Southeast Pacific Stratocumulus: High-Frequency Variability and Mesoscale Structures over San Félix Island

2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Painemal ◽  
René Garreaud ◽  
José Rutllant ◽  
Paquita Zuidema
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Atmospheric Stability ◽  
Mesoscale Structures ◽  
High Frequency Variability ◽  
Southeast Pacific ◽  
Modis Imagery ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

Abstract Stratocumulus cloud cover patterns and their relationship to drizzle were characterized at San Felix Island (SFI; 26.5°S, 80°W) in the southeast Pacific Ocean. Small closed, large closed, and open cells were identified in about 65% of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images during 2003. The MODIS imagery was combined with ceilometer and surface meteorological measurements, human observations of cloud types and drizzle, and large-scale meteorological analyses for January through June. The authors identified two drizzle regimes: a synoptically quiescent summer (January–March) regime characterized by a strong anticyclone, large closed cells, and frequent drizzle, and an autumn (April–June) regime characterized by a weaker anticyclone, small closed cells and open cells, and precipitation that was mainly associated with synoptic activity. The large closed cells had higher mean cloud bases and tops than the small closed cells and accounted for 45% of the cumulus-under-stratocumulus reports and 29% of the total drizzle and rain reports. Large closed cells occupied more intermittently coupled boundary layers than did the small closed cells. Open cells also occurred in more decoupled conditions but only accounted for 18% of the total reports of drizzle and rain. The atmospheric stability of large and small closed cells was similar, but large closed cells were more commonly associated with a strong anticyclone, and small closed cells with wave activity superimposed upon a weakened anticyclone. The increased drizzle and occurrence of cumulus-under-stratocumulus in the summer rather than autumn is consistent with higher nighttime liquid water paths. A contribution of this study is the documentation of the ways in which synoptic activity can affect stratocumulus decks.

Forest and Field Fire Search System Using MODIS Data

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1043-1048 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiji Nunohiro ◽  
◽  
Kei Katayama ◽  
Kenneth J. Mackin ◽  
Jong Geol Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Image Database ◽  
System Configuration ◽  
Search System ◽  
Modis Data ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽  
Process Level

Tokyo University of Information Sciences receives MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data from NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites, and provides the processed data to universities and research institutes as part of the academic frontier project. This paper considers the utilization of MODIS data for a system to search for fire regions in forests and fields. For the search system to be effective, the system must be able to extract the location, range and distribution of fires in forests and fields from a large scale image database quickly with high accuracy. In order to achieve high search response time and to improve the accuracy of the analysis, we propose a forest and field fire search system which implements a) a parallel distributed system configuration using multiple PC clusters, and b) MOD02, MOD03 and MOD09 process levels of MODIS data for input data which provide higher resolution and more accurate readings than the standard MOD14 process level data.

Annual mapping of large forest disturbances across Canada’s forests using 250 m MODIS imagery from 2000 to 2011

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1545-1554 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Guindon ◽  
P.Y. Bernier ◽  
A. Beaudoin ◽  
D. Pouliot ◽  
P. Villemaire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Validation Dataset ◽  
Commission Error ◽  
Forest Disturbances ◽  
Forest Change ◽  
Modis Imagery ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽  
Data Layers

Disturbances such as fire and harvesting shape forest dynamics and must be accounted for when modelling forest properties. However, acquiring timely disturbance information for all of Canada’s large forest area has always been challenging. Therefore, we developed an approach to detect annual forest change resulting from fire, harvesting, or flooding using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery at 250 m spatial resolution across Canada and to estimate the within-pixel fractional change (FC). When this approach was applied to the period from 2000 to 2011, the accuracy of detection of burnt, harvested, or flooded areas against our validation dataset was 82%, 80%, and 85%, respectively. With FC, 77% of the area burnt and 82% of the area harvested within the validation dataset were correctly identified. The methodology was optimized to reduce the commission error but tended to omit smaller disturbances as a result. For example, the omitted area for harvest blocks greater than 80 ha was less than 14% but increased to between 38% and 50% for harvest blocks of 20 to 30 ha. Detection of burnt and harvested areas in some regions was hindered by persistent haze or cloud cover or by insect outbreaks. All resulting data layers are available as supplementary material.

New simple approach to understand the spatial and vertical distribution of biomass burning CO emission based on the MOPITT vertical measurements

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuyong Lin ◽  
Jason Cohen
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽  
Significant Spread ◽  
Spatial And Vertical Distribution

<p>A simple variance-maximization approach, based on 19 years of weekly Moderate Resolution Imaging spectroradiometer (MOPITT) CO vertical measurements, was employed to quantify the spatial distribution of the global seasonal biomass burning region. Results demonstrate there are a few large-scale and typical biomass burning regions responsible for most of the biomass burning emissions throughout the world, with the largest of these such regions located in Amazonian South America, Western Africa, Indonesia, and Northern Southeast Asia (Eastern India, Northern Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Eastern Bangladesh), which are highly associated with the results of Global Fire Emission Database(GFED). The CO is primarily lofted to and spreads downwind at 800mb or 700mb with three exceptions: The Maritime Continent and South America where there is significant spread at 300mb consistent with known deep- and pyro-convection; and Southern Africa where there is significant spread at 600mb. The total mass of CO lofted into the free troposphere ranges from 46% over Central Africa to 92% over Australia.</p>

scholarly journals Indirect Assessment of Sedimentation in Hydropower Dams Using MODIS Remote Sensing Images

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Condé ◽  
Jean-Michel Martinez ◽  
Marco Pessotto ◽  
Raúl Villar ◽  
Gérard Cochonneau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Trapping Efficiency ◽  
Retrieval Algorithm ◽  
Independent Field ◽  
Hydropower Dams ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽  
Sedimentation Processes

In this study, we used moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images to quantify the sedimentation processes in a cascade of six hydropower dams along a 700-km transect in the Paranapanema River in Brazil. Turbidity field measurement acquired over 10 years were used to calibrate a turbidity retrieval algorithm based on MODIS surface reflectance products. An independent field dataset was used to validate the remote sensing estimates showing fine accuracy (RMSE of 9.5 NTU, r = 0.75, N = 138). By processing 13 years of MODIS images since 2000, we showed that satellite data can provide robust turbidity monitoring over the entire transect and can identify extreme sediment discharge events occurring on daily to annual scales. We retrieved the decrease in the water turbidity as a function of distance within each reservoir that is related to sedimentation processes. The remote sensing-retrieved turbidity decrease within the reservoirs ranged from 2 to 62% making possible to infer the reservoir type and operation (storage versus run-of-river reservoirs). The reduction in turbidity assessed from space presented a good relationship with conventional sediment trapping efficiency calculations, demonstrating the potential use of this technology for monitoring the intensity of sedimentation processes within reservoirs and at large scale.

scholarly journals Ice extent in sub-arctic fjords and coastal areas from 2001 to 2019 analyzed from MODIS imagery

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (82) ◽  
pp. 210-226
Author(s):  
Megan O'Sadnick ◽  
Chris Petrich ◽  
Camilla Brekke ◽  
Jofrid Skarðhamar
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Degree Days ◽  
Weather Variables ◽  
Modis Imagery ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽  
Arctic Fjords

AbstractResults examining variations in the ice extent along the Norwegian coastline based on the analysis of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images from 2001 to 2019, February through May, are presented. A total of 386 fjords and coastal areas were outlined and grouped into ten regions to assess seasonal and long-term trends in ice extent. In addition, three fjords were examined to investigate how ice extent may vary over short distances (<100 km). Of the 386 outlined, 47 fjords/coastal areas held >5 km2 of ice at least once between 2001 and 2019. Over this span of time, no statistically significant trend in ice extent is found for all ten regions; however, variations between regions and years are evident. Ice extent is assessed through comparison to three weather variables – freezing degree days (FDD), daily new snowfall and daily freshwater supply from rainfall plus snowmelt. Six out of ten regions are significantly positively correlated (p < 0.05) to FDD. In addition, ice in two regions is significantly positively correlated to daily new snowfall, and in one region negatively correlated to rainfall plus snowmelt. The importance of fjord geometry and bathymetry as well as other weather variables including wind is discussed.

scholarly journals Northern Hemisphere Contrail Properties Derived from Terra and Aqua MODIS Data for 2006 and 2012

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Duda ◽  
Sarah T. Bedka ◽  
Patrick Minnis ◽  
Douglas Spangenberg ◽  
Konstantin Khlopenkov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Detection Algorithm ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Effective Diameter ◽  
Spreading Factor ◽  
Modis Imagery ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

Abstract. Linear contrail coverage, optical property, and radiative forcing data over the Northern Hemisphere (NH) are derived from a year (2012) of Terra and Aqua Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery, and are compared with previously published 2006 results (Duda et al., 2013; Bedka et al., 2013; Spangenberg et al., 2013) using a consistent retrieval methodology. Differences in the observed Terra-minus-Aqua screened contrail coverage and patterns in the 2012 annual-mean air traffic estimated with respect to satellite overpass time suggest that most contrails detected by the contrail detection algorithm (CDA) form approximately 2 h before overpass time. The 2012 screened NH contrail coverage (Mask B) shows a relative 3 % increase (from 0.136 % to 0.140 %) compared to 2006 data for Terra and increased by almost 7 % (0.134 % to 0.143 %) for Aqua. A new post-processing algorithm added to the contrail mask processing estimated that the total contrail cirrus coverage visible in the MODIS imagery may be three to four times larger than the linear contrail coverage detected by the CDA. This estimate is similar in magnitude to the spreading factor estimated by Minnis et al. (2013). Contrail property retrievals of the 2012 data indicate that both contrail optical depth and contrail effective diameter decreased approximately 10 % between 2006 and 2012. The decreases may be attributed to better background cloudiness characterization, changes in the waypoint screening, or changes in contrail temperature. The total mean contrail radiative forcing (TCRF) for all 2012 Terra observations were −6.3, 14.3, and 8.0 mW m−2 for the shortwave (SWCRF), longwave (LWCRF), and net forcings, respectively. These values are approximately 20 % less than the corresponding 2006 Terra estimates. The decline in TCRF results from the decrease in normalized CRF, partially offset by the 3 % increase in overall contrail coverage in 2012. The TCRFs for 2012 Aqua are similar, −6.4, 15.5, and 9.0 mW m−2 for shortwave, longwave, and net radiative forcing. The strong correlation between the relative changes in both total SWCRF and LWCRF between 2006 and 2012 and the corresponding relative changes in screened contrail coverage over each air traffic region suggests that regional changes in TCRF from year to year are dominated by interannual changes in contrail coverage over each area.

scholarly journals MISR calibration issues in high-contrast scenes, and empirical corrections

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 2521-2554 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Limbacher ◽  
R. A. Kahn
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Green Band ◽  
Validation Data ◽  
Modis Imagery ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽  
Terra Satellite ◽  
Cloud Screening

Abstract. We diagnose the potential causes for the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer's (MISR) persistent high aerosol optical depth (AOD) bias at low AOD with the aid of coincident MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery from NASA's Terra satellite. Internal reflections within the MISR instrument are responsible for a large portion of the high AOD bias in high-contrast scenes, which are especially common as broken-cloud situations over ocean. Discrepancies between MODIS and MISR nadir-viewing near-infrared (NIR) images are used to optimize nine parameters, along with a background reflectance modulation term (that was modeled separately), to represent the observed features. Independent, surface-based AOD measurements from the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) and the Marine Aerosol Network (MAN) are compared with MISR Research Algorithm (RA) AOD retrievals for 1118 coincidences to validate the corrections when applied to the nadir and off-nadir cameras. Additionally, the calibration coefficients for the red and NIR channels used for MISR over-water aerosol retrievals were reassessed with the RA to be consistent on a camera-by-camera basis. With these corrections, plus the baseline RA corrections applied (except enhanced cloud screening), the median AOD bias in the mid-visible (green) band decreases from 0.010 to 0.002, the RMSE decreases by ~ 10%, and the slope and correlation of the MISR vs. sun photometer Ångström Exponent improves. For AOD558 nm < 0.10 and with additional cloud screening, the median bias for the RA-retrieved AOD in the green band decreases from 0.011 to 0.003, compared to ~ 0.023 for the Standard Algorithm (SA). RMSE decreases by ~ 20% compared to the baseline (uncorrected) RA and by 17–53% compared to the SA. After all corrections and cloud screening are implemented, for AOD558 nm < 0.10, which includes about half the validation data, 68% absolute AOD errors for the RA have dropped to < 0.02 (~ 0.018).

scholarly journals Pre-melt-season sediment plume variability at Jökulsárlón, Iceland, a preliminary evaluation using in-situ spectroradiometry and satellite imagery

2016 ◽  
Vol 57 (73) ◽  
pp. 39-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hodgkins ◽  
Robert Bryant ◽  
Eleanor Darlington ◽  
Mark Brandon
Keyword(s):  
Short Interval ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Linear Calibration ◽  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
Modis Imagery ◽  
Study Interval ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

ABSTRACTHigh-latitude atmospheric warming is impacting freshwater cycling, requiring techniques for monitoring the hydrology of sparsely-gauged regions. The submarine runoff of tidewater glaciers presents a particular challenge. We evaluate the utility of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery for monitoring turbid meltwater plume variability in the glacier lagoon Jökulsárlón, Iceland, for a short interval before the onset of the main melt season. Total Suspended Solids concentrations (TSS) of surface waters are related to remotely-sensed reflectance via empirical calibration between in-situ-sampled TSS and reflectance in a MODIS band 1-equivalent wavelength window. This study differs from previous ones in its application to an overturning tidewater glacier plume, rather than one derived from river runoff. The linear calibration improves on previous studies by facilitating a wider range of plume metrics than areal extent, notably pixel-by-pixel TSS values. Increasing values of minimum plume TSS over the study interval credibly represent rising overall turbidity in the lagoon as melting accumulates. Plume extent responds principally to consistently-strong offshore winds. Further work is required to determine the temporal persistence of the calibration, but remote plume observation holds promise for monitoring hydrological outputs from ungauged or ungaugeable systems.

scholarly journals Analysis of Near-Cloud Changes in Atmospheric Aerosols Using Satellite Observations and Global Model Simulations

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1151
Author(s):  
Tamás Várnai ◽  
Alexander Marshak
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Orthogonal Polarization ◽  
Atmospheric Models ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Modern Era

This paper examines cloud-related variations of atmospheric aerosols that occur in partly cloudy regions containing low-altitude clouds. The goal is to better understand aerosol behaviors and to help better represent the radiative effects of aerosols on climate. For this, the paper presents a statistical analysis of a multi-month global dataset that combines data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) satellite instruments with data from the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) global reanalysis. Among other findings, the results reveal that near-cloud enhancements in lidar backscatter (closely related to aerosol optical depth) are larger (1) over land than ocean by 35%, (2) near optically thicker clouds by substantial amounts, (3) for sea salt than for other aerosol types, with the difference from dust reaching 50%. Finally, the study found that mean lidar backscatter is higher near clouds not because of large-scale variations in meteorological conditions, but because of local processes associated with individual clouds. The results help improve our understanding of aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions and our ability to represent them in climate models and other atmospheric models.

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