Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer Data Research Articles

A MISR-Based Method for the Estimation of Particle Size Distribution: Comparison with AERONET over China

Aerosol particle size has a crucial impact on the environment and public health. Current satellite-based regression models focus on the total amount of particles and are limited by surface observations. This study proposes an algorithm to derive the long-term normalized volume size distribution (VSD) of aerosol particles, which is independent of ground measurements. The size distribution and aerosol optical depth of Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) components are employed. We find the estimated MISR VSD is consistent with Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) observations, with R = 0.56, 0.54, 0.59, and 0.68 for daily, monthly, seasonal, and annual levels. The stratified validations of radius, stations, and years further confirm the stable performance of derived VSD ( R = 0.28 to 0.73). The application of the random forest model demonstrates the potential improvements of predicted VSD by 10-fold cross-validation R = 0.86 at the monthly level. We apply MISR VSD to quantify the normalized volume of fractional aerosol particles at a resolution of 0.2° × 0.2° during 2004 to 2016 in China. We also calculate the proportion of small and medium particles to indicate the contribution of anthropogenic aerosols. The highest ratios are concentrated in the northeastern regions especially during winter while relatively lower in the Taklamakan Desert of western China. The case study demonstrates that the application of MISR data can yield valuable and resolved size distributions of aerosol particles.

A New Data Processing System for Generating Sea Ice Surface Roughness Products from the Multi-Angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Imagery

Sea ice roughness can serve as a proxy for other sea ice characteristics such as ice thickness and ice age. Arctic-wide maps that represent spatial patterns of sea ice roughness can be used to better characterize spatial patterns of ice convergence and divergence processes. Sea ice surface roughness can also control and quantify turbulent exchange between sea ice surface and atmosphere and therefore influence surface energy balance at the basin scale. We have developed a data processing system that produces georeferenced sea ice roughness rasters that can be mosaicked to produce Arctic-wide maps of sea ice roughness. This approach starts with Top-of-Atmosphere radiance data from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). We used red-band angular data from three MISR cameras (Ca, Cf, An). We created a training data set in which MISR pixels were matched with co-located and concurrent lidar-derived roughness measurements from the Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM). We used a K-nearest neighbor algorithm with the training data to calibrate the multi-angle data to values of surface roughness and then applied the algorithm to Arctic-wide MISR data for two 16-day periods in April (spring) and July (summer). After georeferencing the roughness rasters, we then mosaicked each 16-day roughness dataset to produce Arctic-wide maps of sea ice roughness for spring and summer. Assessment of the results shows good agreement with independent ATM roughness data, not used in model development. A preliminary exploration of spatial and seasonal changes in sea ice roughness for two locations shows the ability to characterize the roughness of different ice types and the results align with previous studies. This processing system and its data products can help the sea ice research community to gain insights into the seasonal and interannual changes in sea ice roughness over the Arctic.

Vegetation Angular Signatures of Equatorial Forests From DSCOVR EPIC and Terra MISR Observations

In vegetation canopies cross-shading between finite dimensional leaves leads to a peak in reflectance in the retro-illumination direction. This effect is called the hot spot in optical remote sensing. The hotspot region in reflectance of vegetated surfaces represents the most information-rich directions in the angular distribution of canopy reflected radiation. This paper presents a new approach for generating hot spot signatures of equatorial forests from synergistic analyses of multiangle observations from the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on Terra platform and near backscattering reflectance data from the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) onboard NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). A canopy radiation model parameterized in terms of canopy spectral invariants underlies the theoretical basis for joining Terra MISR and DSCOVR EPIC data. The proposed model can accurately reproduce both MISR angular signatures acquired at 10:30 local solar time and diurnal courses of EPIC reflectance (NRMSE < 9%, R2 > 0.8). Analyses of time series of the hot spot signature suggest its ability to unambiguously detect seasonal changes of equatorial forests.

Global Wildfire Plume‐Rise Data Set and Parameterizations for Climate Model Applications

AbstractThe fire plume height (smoke injection height) is an important parameter for calculating the transport and lifetime of smoke particles, which can significantly affect regional and global air quality and atmospheric radiation budget. To develop an observation‐based global fire plume‐rise data set, a modified one‐dimensional plume‐rise model was used with observation‐based fire size and Maximum Fire Radiative Power (MFRP) data, which are derived from satellite fire hotspot measurements. The resulting data set captured well the observed plume height distribution derived from the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) measurements. The fraction of fire plumes penetrating above the boundary layer is relatively low at 20% at the time of MISR observation (10:30 am LT) but increases to an average of ∼55% in the late afternoon, implying that the MISR observation data sampled in late morning underestimate the average daytime fire plume heights and plume mixing into the free troposphere. Therefore, adjustments are required through dynamic modeling or parameterization of fire plume height as a function of meteorological and fire conditions when the MISR data set is applied in climate model simulations. We conducted sensitivity simulations using the Community Atmospheric Models version 5 (CAM5). Model results show that the incorporation of fire plume rise in the model tends to significantly increase fire aerosol impacted regions. We applied the offline plume‐rise data to develop an online fire plume height parameterization, allowing for simulating the feedbacks of climate/weather on fire plume rise in climate models.

Wildfire Smoke Particle Properties and Evolution, From Space-Based Multi-Angle Imaging II: The Williams Flats Fire during the FIREX-AQ Campaign

Although the characteristics of biomass burning events and the ambient ecosystem determine emitted smoke composition, the conditions that modulate the partitioning of black carbon (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) formation are not well understood, nor are the spatial or temporal frequency of factors driving smoke particle evolution, such as hydration, coagulation, and oxidation, all of which impact smoke radiative forcing. In situ data from surface observation sites and aircraft field campaigns offer deep insight into the optical, chemical, and microphysical traits of biomass burning (BB) smoke aerosols, such as single scattering albedo (SSA) and size distribution, but cannot by themselves provide robust statistical characterization of both emitted and evolved particles. Data from the NASA Earth Observing System’s Multi-Angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument can provide at least a partial picture of BB particle properties and their evolution downwind, once properly validated. Here we use in situ data from the joint NOAA/NASA 2019 Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments Experiment-Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) field campaign to assess the strengths and limitations of MISR-derived constraints on particle size, shape, light-absorption, and its spectral slope, as well as plume height and associated wind vectors. Based on the satellite observations, we also offer inferences about aging mechanisms effecting downwind particle evolution, such as gravitational settling, oxidation, secondary particle formation, and the combination of particle aggregation and condensational growth. This work builds upon our previous study, adding confidence to our interpretation of the remote-sensing data based on an expanded suite of in situ measurements for validation. The satellite and in situ measurements offer similar characterizations of particle property evolution as a function of smoke age for the 06 August Williams Flats Fire, and most of the key differences in particle size and absorption can be attributed to differences in sampling and changes in the plume geometry between sampling times. Whereas the aircraft data provide validation for the MISR retrievals, the satellite data offer a spatially continuous mapping of particle properties over the plume, which helps identify trends in particle property downwind evolution that are ambiguous in the sparsely sampled aircraft transects. The MISR data record is more than two decades long, offering future opportunities to study regional wildfire plume behavior statistically, where aircraft data are limited or entirely lacking.

A surface reflectance correction model to improve the retrieval of MISR aerosol optical depth supported by MODIS data

Combined use of different satellite sensors are known to improve retrievals of aerosol optical depth (AOD). In this study, we propose a new method for retrieving Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) AOD data supported by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data in Jiangsu Province, China, over the period of 2016–2018 using MODIS L1B, bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), MISR 1B2T, and ground-measured AOD data. This method is based on the surface reflectance determined by the MODIS V5.2 algorithm. Through the observation angle and spectral conversion between different sensors, the MISR AOD can be obtained. The correlation coefficient (R) and root-mean-square error (RMSE) between the retrieved MISR and ground-measured AOD data varied between different seasons. The accuracy of the MISR AOD retrieval was notably improved after correcting the MISR surface reflectance. Therefore, the method proposed in this study is feasible for the retrieval of MISR AOD supported by MODIS data, and will be applicable to atmospheric environmental monitoring over large areas in the future.

Distribution and transport characteristics of dust aerosol over Tibetan Plateau and Taklimakan Desert in China using MERRA-2 and CALIPSO data

Abstract The distribution and transportation characteristics of dust aerosol over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and Taklimakan Desert (TD) were analyzed during 1980–2017 using MERRA-2 (second Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications) and CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) products. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) of MERRA-2 were compared with those of AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) at six sites and the corresponding MISR (Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer) data. The correlation coefficients were 0.73–0.88 and 0.94, respectively. The yearly AOD over the IGP (Indo-Gangetic Plain) and the TD showed a significant increasing trend. The variations of seasonal AOD and dust AOD (DAOD) over the research region were similar, showing the values decreasing from north to south and the higher values appearing in spring and summer. The DAOD/AOD ratio exceeded 0.5 during March–August and throughout whole year in the north part of the TP and the TD, respectively. The duration, strength and area of the high DAOD region over the TD have enhanced during the past 38 years. From the CALIPSO observation, it showed the dust moving from the TD to the TP was mainly through the Qaidam Basin in the layer of 4–8 km aloft and could transport as south as 30°N, with the maximum lifting height in spring. In winter, the dust over TP was mainly from the Qaidam Basin due to the suppression effect of the inversion layer over the TD. The largest profile of dust extinction coefficient appeared in spring over the TD, while in summer over the TP. The distribution and annual regional averages of base, top and thickness of dust layer were calculated and presented. It shows a long-standing dust layer of about 1 km appearing over the TP with the maximum in spring.

Replacing missing values in the standard Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) radiometric camera-by-camera cloud mask (RCCM) data product

Abstract. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) is one of the five instruments hosted on board the NASA Terra platform, launched on 18 December 1999. This instrument has been operational since 24 February 2000 and is still acquiring Earth observation data as of this writing. The primary mission of the MISR is to document the state and properties of the atmosphere, in particular the clouds and aerosols it contains, as well as the planetary surface, on the basis of 36 data channels collectively gathered by its nine cameras (pointing in different directions along the orbital track) in four spectral bands (blue, green, red and near-infrared). The radiometric camera-by-camera cloud mask (RCCM) is derived from the calibrated measurements at the nominal top of the atmosphere and is provided separately for each of the nine cameras. This RCCM data product is permanently archived at the NASA Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) in Hampton, VA, USA, and is openly accessible (Diner et al., 1999b, and https://doi.org/10.5067/Terra/MISR/MIRCCM_L2.004). For various technical reasons described in this paper, this RCCM product exhibits missing data, even though an estimate of the clear or cloudy status of the environment at each individual observed location can be deduced from the available measurements. The aims of this paper are (1) to describe how to replace over 99 % of the missing values by estimates and (2) to briefly describe the software to replace missing RCCM values, which is openly available to the community from the GitHub website, https://github.com/mmverstraete/MISR\\ RCCM/ (last access: 12 March 2020), or https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.3240017 (Verstraete, 2019e). Two additional sets of resources are also made available on the research data repository of GFZ Data Services in conjunction with this paper. The first set (A; Verstraete et al., 2020; https://doi.org/10.5880/fidgeo.2020.004) includes three items: (A1) a compressed archive, RCCM_Out.zip, containing all intermediary, final and ancillary outputs created while generating the figures of this paper; (A2) a user manual, RCCM_Out.pdf, describing how to install, uncompress and explore those files; and (A3) a separate input MISR data archive, RCCM_input_68050.zip, for Path 168, Orbit 68050. This latter archive is usable with (B), the second set (Verstraete and Vogt, 2020; https://doi.org/10.5880/fidgeo.2020.008), which includes (B1), a stand-alone, self-contained, executable version of the RCCM correction codes, RCCM_Soft_Win.zip, using the IDL Virtual Machine technology that does not require a paid IDL license, as well as (B2), a user manual, RCCM_Soft_Win.pdf, to explain how to install, uncompress and use this software.

Introducing the 4.4 km spatial resolution Multi-Angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) aerosol product

Abstract. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument has been operational on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra satellite since early 2000, creating an extensive data set of global Earth observations. Here we introduce the latest version of the MISR aerosol products. The level 2 (swath) product, which is reported on a 4.4 km spatial grid, is designated as version 23 (V23) and contains retrieved aerosol optical depth (AOD) and aerosol particle property information derived from MISR's multi-angle observations over both land and water. The changes from the previous version of the algorithm (V22) have significant impacts on the data product and its interpretation. The V23 data set is created from two separate retrieval algorithms that are applied over dark water and land surfaces, respectively. Besides increasing the horizontal resolution to 4.4 km compared with the coarser 17.6 m resolution in V22 and streamlining the format and content, the V23 product has added geolocation information, pixel-level uncertainty estimates, and improved cloud screening. MISR data can be obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center at https://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/project/misr/misr_table (last access: 11 October 2019). The version number for the V23 level 2 aerosol product is F13_0023. The level 3 (gridded) aerosol product is still reported at 0.5∘×0.5∘ spatial resolution with results aggregated from the higher-resolution level 2 data. The format and content at level 3 have also been updated to reflect the changes made at level 2. The level 3 product associated with the V23 level 2 product version is designated as F15_0032. Both the level 2 and level 3 products are now provided in NetCDF format.

Evaluation of the MISR fine resolution aerosol product using MODIS, MISR, and ground observations over China

Recently, NASA's Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) team released the Version 23 (V23) 4.4-km Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) product, which has better spatial resolution than V22 at 17.6 km. However, its quality has not been validated in China. Here, V23 products for different spatiotemporal domains are obtained for validation against Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AERONET) AOD measurements for 29 sites from 2008 to 2017. Based on the national daily mean, V23 AOD yields a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.902 with AERONET; 59.45% of retrievals fall within the expected error (=EE; ±0.05 or ±0.2×AOD). A mean error (ME) of −0.0605 with 24.11% of retrievals falling below the EE indicates that MISR data are still underestimated at high AODs. The sample numbers and accuracies of spatially averaged 17.6-km and 50-km data are greatly improved relative to V22. The seasonal mean of V23 retrievals = EE in fall and winter are highest, followed by those in summer and spring; the validation results at 17.6 km are generally better than those at 50 km. By region, V23 retrievals = EE in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH), Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Pearl River Delta (PRD) regions are 68.87%, 61.43%, and 73.13% respectively, while that of Taiwan is below 60% (55.75%). No V22 records exist in PRD, and V23 products over other regions in all seasons perform well; V22 retrievals in summer are also recommended. Compared with Terra/MODIS 3-km AOD in 2016, the V23 product has a slightly higher R value (0.925) with AERONET than MODIS (0.909). The MISR AOD bias is lower, and MODIS AOD is overestimated relative to the ground truth; both present consistent seasonality characteristics (spring > winter > summer > autumn), with the maximum in March and minimum in August. To investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics over long-term AOD, MISR V23 4.4-km AOD can be used in combination with other observation data.

Estimation of CO2 Emissions from Wildfires Using OCO-2 Data

The biomass burning model (BBM) has been the most widely used method for estimation of trace gas emissions. Due to the difficulty and variability in obtaining various necessary parameters of BBM, a new method is needed to quickly and accurately calculate the trace gas emissions from wildfires. Here, we used satellite data from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) to calculate CO2 emissions from wildfires (the OCO-2 model). Four active wildfires in Siberia were selected in which OCO-2 points intersecting with smoke plumes identified by Aqua MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images. MODIS band 8, band 21 and MISR (Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer) data were used to identify the smoke plume area, burned area and smoke plume height, respectively. By contrast with BBM, which calculates CO2 emissions based on the bottom–top mode, the OCO-2 model estimates CO2 emissions based on the top–bottom mode. We used a linear regression model to compute CO2 concentration (XCO2) for each smoke plume pixel and then calculated CO2 emissions for each wildfire point. The CO2 mass of each smoke plume pixel was added to obtain the CO2 emissions from wildfires. After verifying our results with the BBM, we found that the biases were between 25.76% and 157.11% for the four active fires. The OCO-2 model displays the advantages of remote-sensing technology and is a useful tool for fire-emission monitoring, although we note some of its disadvantages. This study proposed a new perspective to estimate CO2 emissions from wildfire and effectively expands the applied range of OCO-2 satellite data.

Oceanic Aerosol Loading Derived From MISR's 4.4 km (V23) Aerosol Product

AbstractA new version (V23) of the Multi‐angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Level 2 (swath‐based) aerosol product was publicly released in mid‐2018. V23 has seen many updates to the retrieval process, most notably over dark water (DW), which applies over the global oceans and other deep bodies of water. Here the quality of the new MISR DW retrievals is assessed using surface‐based aerosol optical depth (AOD) observations from the Maritime Aerosol Network (MAN) and island/coastal sites within the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET). About 406 MISR/MAN and 11,015 MISR/AERONET collocated observations were identified. Comparison against MAN reveals the unparalleled accuracy of the V23 AOD retrievals: the correlation coefficient is 0.98, the root‐mean‐square error is 0.041, and the mean bias is −0.002. Aerosol spatial heterogeneity negatively affects comparison statistics against AERONET observations—applying stricter collocation criteria drastically improves agreement between MISR and AERONET. The reported AOD uncertainties realistically represent retrieval errors as they exhibit behavior similar to that of the standard deviation of a Gaussian distribution. Over the 18 years of MISR data analyzed, the global area‐weighted average AOD over oceans is 0.103; it becomes 0.151 when the averaging is restricted to locations where MAN observations are available. The AOD uncertainties are generally higher than average in offshore areas dominated by anthropogenic and biomass burning aerosols and lower than average in regions with mineral dust outflows. These results suggest future directions for improving the predefined aerosol mixtures used in the MISR aerosol retrieval look‐up tables.

Inference of an Optimal Ice Particle Model through Latitudinal Analysis of MISR and MODIS Data

The inference of ice cloud properties from remote sensing data depends on the assumed forward ice particle model, as they are used in the radiative transfer simulations that are part of the retrieval process. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection 6 (MC6) ice cloud property retrievals are produced in conjunction with a single-habit ice particle model with a fixed degree of ice particle surface roughness (the MC6 model). In this study, we examine the MC6 model and five other ice models with either smoother or rougher surface textures to determine an optimal model to reproduce the angular variation of the radiation field sampled by the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) as a function of latitude. The spherical albedo difference (SAD) method is used to infer an optimal ice particle model. The method is applied to collocated MISR and MODIS data over ocean for clouds with temperatures ≤233 K during December solstice from 2012–2015. The range of solar zenith angles covered by the MISR cameras is broader at the solstices than at other times of the year, with fewer scattering angles associated with sun glint during the December solstice than the June solstice. The results suggest a latitudinal dependence in an optimal ice particle model, and an additional dependence on the solar zenith angle (SZA) at the time of the observations. The MC6 model is one of the most optimal models on the global scale. In further analysis, the results are filtered by a cloud heterogeneity index to investigate cloudy scenarios that are less susceptible to potential 3D effects. Compared to results for global data, the consistency between measurements and a given model can be distinguished in both the tropics and extra-tropics. The SAD analysis suggests that the optimal model for thick homogeneous clouds corresponds to more roughened ice particles in the tropics than in the extra-tropics. While the MC6 model is one of the models most consistent with the global data, it may not be the most optimal model for the tropics.

Improving Land Cover Classifications with Multiangular Data: MISR Data in Mainland Spain

In this study, we deal with the application of multiangular data from the Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) sensor for studying the effect of surface anisotropy and directional information on the classification accuracy for different land covers with different rate of disaggregation classes (from four to 35 different classes) from a Mediterranean bioregion in Iberian, Spain. We used various MISR band groups from nadir to blue, green, red, and NIR channels at nadir and off-nadir. The MISR data utilized here were provided by the L1B2T product (275 m spatial resolution) and belonged to two different orbits. We performed 23 classifications with the k-means algorithm to test multiangular data, number of clusters, and iteration effects. Our findings confirmed that the multiangular information, in addition to the multispectral information used as the input of the k-means algorithm, improves the land cover classification accuracy, and this improvement increased with the level of disaggregation. A very large number of clusters produced even better improvements than multiangular data.

Simulating arbitrary hyperspectral bandsets from multispectral observations via a generic Earth Observation-Land Data Assimilation System (EO-LDAS)

This paper presents results of using multi-sensor and multi-angular constraints in the generic Earth Observation-Land Data Assimilation System (EO-LDAS) for reproducing arbitrary bandsets of hyperspectral reflectance at the top-of-canopy (TOC) level by merging observations from multispectral sensors with different spectral characteristics. This is demonstrated by combining Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) and Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) data to simulate the Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer CHRIS/PROBA hyperspectral signal over an agricultural test site, in Barrax, Spain. However, the method can be more generally applied to any combination of spectral data, providing a tool for merging EO data to any arbitrary hyperspectral bandset.Comparisons are presented using both synthetic and observed MISR and Landsat data, and retrieving surface biophysical properties. We find that when using simulated MISR and Landsat data, the CHRIS/PROBA hyperspectral signal is reproduced with RMSE 0.0001–0.04. LAI is retrieved with r2 from 0.97 to 0.99 and RMSE of from 0.21 to 0.38. The results based on observed MISR and Landsat data have lower performances, with RMSE for the reproduced CHRIS/PROBA hyperspectral signal varying from 0.007 to 0.2. LAI is retrievedwith r2 from 0.7 to 0.9 and RMSE from 0.7 to 1.4. We found that for the data considered here the main spectral variations in the visible and near infrared regions can be described by a limited number of parameters (3–4) that can be estimated from multispectral information. Results show that the method can be used to simulate arbitrary bandsets, which will be of importance to any application which requires combining new and existing streams of new EO data in the optical domain, particularly intercalibration of EO satellites in order to get continuous time series of surface reflectance, across programmes and sensors of different designs.

Simultaneous Estimation of Leaf Area Index, Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation, and Surface Albedo From Multiple-Satellite Data

Leaf area index (LAI), fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), and surface broadband albedo are three routinely generated land-surface parameters from satellite observations, which have been widely used in land-surface modeling and environmental monitoring. Currently, most global land products are retrieved separately from individual satellite data. Many issues, such as data gaps, spatial and temporal inconsistencies, and insufficient accuracy under certain conditions resulting from the inadequacies of single-sensor observations, have made the incorporation of multiple sensors a reasonable solution. In this paper, an approach to simultaneous estimation of LAI, broadband albedo, and FAPAR from multiple-satellite sensors is further refined. The method, improved from that proposed in an earlier study using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, consists of several steps. First, a coupled dynamic and radiative-transfer model based on MODIS, SPOT/VEGETATION, and Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer data was developed to retrieve LAI values and use them to construct a time-evolving dynamic model. Second, an iteration process with predefined exit criteria was developed to obtain consistent gap-filled LAI estimates. Third, a spectral albedo based on the retrieved LAI values was simulated using a radiative-transfer model and then converted to a broadband albedo using empirical methods. Snow-covered pixels identified by normalized difference snow index thresholds were adjusted to the weighted average of the underlying albedo and the maximum snow albedo. Finally, the FAPAR of green vegetation was calculated as a combination of the albedo at the top of the canopy, the soil albedo, and the transmittance of the PAR down to the background. Validation of retrieved LAI, albedo, and FAPAR values obtained from multiple-satellite data over ten study sites has demonstrated that the proposed method can produce more accurate products than presently distributed global products.

Assessment and Improvement of MISR Angstrom Exponent and Single-Scattering Albedo Products Using AERONET Data in China

Mapping the components, size, and absorbing/scattering properties of particle pollution is of great interest in the environmental and public health fields. Although the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) can detect a greater number of aerosol microphysical properties than most other spaceborne sensors, the Angstrom exponent (AE) and single-scattering albedo (SSA) products are not widely utilized or as robust as the aerosol optical depth (AOD) product. This study focused on validating MISR AE and SSA data using AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) data for China from 2004 to 2014. The national mean value of the MISR data (1.08) was 0.095 lower than that of the AERONET data. However, the MISR SSA average (0.99) was significantly higher than that of AERONET (0.89). In this study, we developed a method to improve the AE and SSA by narrowing the selection of MISR mixtures via the introduction of the following group thresholds obtained from an 11-year AERONET dataset: minimum and maximum values (for the method of MISR_Imp_All) and the top 10% and bottom 10% of the averaged values (for MISR_Imp_10%). Overall, our improved AE values were closer to the AERONET AE values, and additional samples (MISR_Imp_All: 28.04% and 64.72%, MISR_Imp_10%: 34.11% and 73.13%) had absolute differences of less than 0.1 and 0.3 (defined by the expected error tests, e.g., EE_0.1) compared with the original MISR product (18.46% and 50.23%). For the SSA product, our method also improved the mean, EE_0.05, and EE_0.1 from 0.99, 16.13%, and 56.45% (MISR original product) to 0.96, 40.32%, and 70.97% (MISR_Imp_All), and 0.94, 54.84%, and 90.32% (MISR_Imp_10%), respectively.

Direct Estimation of Land Surface Albedo From Simultaneous MISR Data

The availability of multiangular information from the NASA Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument provides an excellent opportunity for the characterization of surface anisotropy, which can be used for improving surface albedo estimation. However, the MISR data have been reported with large uncertainties and data gaps due to inaccurate aerosol estimation and/or cloud masking limiting its otherwise broader applications. To mitigate these issues, two approaches were proposed to estimate land surface albedo directly from surface reflectance (LSA_sfc) and Top-of-Atmosphere reflectance (LSA_toa), respectively. As a further development of the traditional albedo algorithms, this is the first attempt to simultaneously utilize multispectral and multiangular information in surface albedo estimation without any prior constraining information. Validations at AmeriFlux sites show that the proposed algorithms can achieve accuracies similar to that of the MISR product with respective bias and RMSE of 0.004 and 0.032 for LSA_sfc and 0.005 and 0.032 for LSA_toa algorithms. We found that the LSA_toa algorithm can significantly reduce data gaps and provide accurate surface albedo retrievals with two to three times more valid data than the current MISR product. In addition, these approaches can be easily applied to other optical sensors to produce accurate and gap-free clear-sky surface albedo estimations. The results of this paper also highlight the importance of having two to three simultaneous observations with sufficient angular sampling, which can improve albedo accuracy and reduce data gaps.

Estimation of fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation from multiple satellite data: Model development and validation

Abstract The fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR) is a critical input in numerous climatological and ecological models. The targeted accuracy of FAPAR products is 10%, or 0.05, for many applications. However, most of the FAPAR products in current usage have not yet fulfilled the accuracy requirement, thus requiring further improvements. In this study, a new FAPAR estimation model is developed on the basis of the radiative transfer (RT) for a horizontally homogeneous continuous canopy. The spatially explicit parameterization of leaf-scattering and soil background reflectance is derived from a 13-year Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) albedo database. The new algorithm requires the input of leaf area index (LAI), which is estimated by a hybrid geometric optical-RT model suitable for both continuous and discrete vegetation canopies in this study. The model calculated radiative surface fluxes, i.e., canopy reflectance, absorption, and transmittance, are compared with the reference data from Radiation transfer Model Intercomparison (RAMI) exercise. The evaluation results show that the model estimated FAPAR has an uncertainty of 0.08 over homogeneous and heterogeneous canopies. The FAPAR estimates from the new model are intercompared with reference satellite FAPAR products and validated with ground-based measurements at the Validation of Land European Remote Sensing Instruments (VALERI) AmeriFlux experimental sites. The validation results show that the FAPAR estimates from the new model are comparable to or slightly better in performance than the MODIS and the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) FAPAR products when using corresponding satellite LAI product values as the input. The FAPAR estimates are further improved when using the new LAI estimates from the hybrid model as the input. The new model adequately identifies the growing seasons and produces smooth time series curves of estimated FAPAR during a specific duration. The uncertainty is reduced to 0.1 when validating with total FAPAR measurements, and 0.08 when validating with green FAPAR measurements. The improvements are apparent in grasslands and forests with an uncertainty reduction of 0.06. The regional-scale application of the presented model generates consistent FAPAR maps at spatial resolutions of 30 m, 500 m, and 1 km from the Landsat, MODIS, and MISR data, respectively.

Difference between forward- and backward-looking bands of GOSAT-2 CAI-2 cloud discrimination used with Terra MISR data

ABSTRACTGreenhouse gases Observing SATellite-2 (GOSAT-2) will be launched in fiscal year 2017. GOSAT-2 will be equipped with two Earth-observing instruments: the thermal and near-infrared sensor for carbon observation Fourier transform spectrometer 2 (TANSO-FTS-2) and TANSO-cloud and aerosol imager 2 (CAI-2). The FTS-2 data will be used to determine atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, such as CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane) and CO (carbon monoxide). CAI-2 is a push-broom imaging sensor that has forward- and backward-looking bands for observing the optical properties of aerosols and clouds, and for monitoring the status of urban air pollution and transboundary air pollution over oceans. An important role of CAI-2 is to perform cloud discrimination in each direction. The Cloud and Aerosol Unbiased Decision Intellectual Algorithm (CLAUDIA) will be used for cloud discrimination with CAI-2. The Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) aboard the Terra spacecraft provides radiometrically and geometrically calibrated images for spectral bands at nine widely spaced angles. In this study, we examined the difference between forward and backward cloud discrimination by using CLAUDIA with Terra MISR data. The results were as follows: (1) in land areas and polar regions, cloud discrimination results obtained with either band could be used; and (2) in sea areas, cloud discrimination results that include no-sun-glint regions should be used.