scholarly journals Analysis of global three-dimensional aerosol structure with spectral radiance matching

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 6541-6556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Liu ◽  
Sijie Chen ◽  
Chonghui Cheng ◽  
Howard W. Barker ◽  
Changzhe Dong ◽  
...  

Abstract. A method is assessed which expands aerosol vertical profiles inferred from nadir-pointing lidars to cross-track locations next to nadir columns. This is achieved via matching of passive radiances at off-nadir locations with their counterparts that are collocated with lidar data. This spectral radiance matching (SRM) method is tested using profiles inferred from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) lidar observations and collocated Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) passive imagery for the periods 10–25 April and 14–29 September 2015. CALIPSO profiles are expanded out to 100 km on both sides of the daytime ground track. Reliability of constructed profiles that are removed from the ground track by number of kilometers are tested by requiring the algorithm to reconstruct profiles using only profiles that are removed from it along track by more than the number of kilometers. When sufficient numbers of pixels and columns are available, the SRM method can correctly match ∼75 % and ∼68 % of aerosol vertical structure at distances of 30 and 100 km from the ground track, respectively. The construction algorithm is applied to the eastern coast of Asia during spring 2015. Vertical distributions of different aerosol subtypes indicate that the region was dominated by dust and polluted dust transported from the continent. It is shown that atmospheric profiles and aerosol optical depth (AOD) inferred from ground-based measurements agree with those constructed by the SRM method. For profiles, the relative errors between those measured by ground-based lidar and those constructed in the surrounding area are similar to the relative errors between the ground-based station and CALIPSO overpass at the closest distance. For AOD, the measurements from the ground-based network agree with those inferred from constructed aerosol structure better than direct observations from CALIPSO and close to those inferred from MODIS radiances.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sijie Chen ◽  
Chonghui Cheng ◽  
Xingying Zhang ◽  
Lin Su ◽  
Bowen Tong ◽  
...  

A cloud structure construction algorithm adapted for the nighttime condition is proposed and evaluated. The algorithm expands the vertical information inferred from spaceborne radar and lidar via matching of infrared (IR) radiances and other properties at off-nadir locations with their counterparts that are collocated with active footprints. This nighttime spectral radiance matching (NSRM) method is tested using measurements from CloudSat/Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Cloud layer heights are estimated up to 400 km on both sides of the ground track and reconstructed with the dead zone setting for an approximate evaluation of the reliability. By mimicking off-nadir pixels with a dead zone around pixels along the ground track, reconstruction of nadir profiles shows that, at 200 km from the ground track, the cloud top height (CTH) and the cloud base height (CBH) reconstructed by the NSRM method are within 1.49 km and 1.81 km of the original measurements, respectively. The constructed cloud structure is utilized for cloud classification in the nighttime. The same method is applied to the daytime measurements for comparison with collocated MODIS classification based on the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) standard. The comparison of eight cloud types over the expanded distance shows good agreement in general.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Liu ◽  
Sijie Chen ◽  
Chonghui Cheng ◽  
Howard W. Barker ◽  
Changzhe Dong ◽  
...  

Abstract. A method is assessed which expands aerosol vertical profiles inferred from nadir-pointing lidars to cross-track locations next to nadir columns. This is achieved via matching of passive radiances at off-nadir locations with their counterparts that are collocated with lidar data. This spectral radiance matching (SRM) method is tested using profiles inferred from CALIPSO lidar observations and collocated MODIS passive imagery for the periods 10–25 April and 14–29 September 2015. CALIPSO profiles are expanded out to 100 km on both sides of the daytime ground-track. Reliability of constructed profiles that are removed from the ground-track by N km are tested by requiring the algorithm to reconstruct profiles using only profiles that are removed from it along-track by more than N km. When sufficient numbers of pixels/columns are available, the SRM method can correctly match ~ 75 % and ~ 68 % of aerosol vertical structure at distances of 30 km and 100 km from the ground-track, respectively. The construction algorithm is applied to the east coast of Asia during spring 2015. Vertical distributions of different aerosol subtypes indicate that the region was dominated by dust and polluted dust transported from the continent. It is shown that aerosol optical depths inferred from ground-based measurements agree with those constructed by the SRM method better than direct observation from CALIPSO, and close to those inferred from MODIS radiances.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (17) ◽  
pp. 6065-6083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinghui Liu ◽  
Jeffrey R. Key

Abstract Cloud cover is one of the largest uncertainties in model predictions of the future Arctic climate. Previous studies have shown that cloud amounts in global climate models and atmospheric reanalyses vary widely and may have large biases. However, many climate studies are based on anomalies rather than absolute values, for which biases are less important. This study examines the performance of five atmospheric reanalysis products—ERA-Interim, MERRA, MERRA-2, NCEP R1, and NCEP R2—in depicting monthly mean Arctic cloud amount anomalies against Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite observations from 2000 to 2014 and against Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) observations from 2006 to 2014. All five reanalysis products exhibit biases in the mean cloud amount, especially in winter. The Gerrity skill score (GSS) and correlation analysis are used to quantify their performance in terms of interannual variations. Results show that ERA-Interim, MERRA, MERRA-2, and NCEP R2 perform similarly, with annual mean GSSs of 0.36/0.22, 0.31/0.24, 0.32/0.23, and 0.32/0.23 and annual mean correlation coefficients of 0.50/0.51, 0.43/0.54, 0.44/0.53, and 0.50/0.52 against MODIS/CALIPSO, indicating that the reanalysis datasets do exhibit some capability for depicting the monthly mean cloud amount anomalies. There are no significant differences in the overall performance of reanalysis products. They all perform best in July, August, and September and worst in November, December, and January. All reanalysis datasets have better performance over land than over ocean. This study identifies the magnitudes of errors in Arctic mean cloud amounts and anomalies and provides a useful tool for evaluating future improvements in the cloud schemes of reanalysis products.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Kesar Chand ◽  
Jagdish Chandra Kuniyal ◽  
Shruti Kanga ◽  
Raj Paul Guleria ◽  
Gowhar Meraj ◽  
...  

The extensive work on the increasing burden of aerosols and resultant climate implications shows a matter of great concern. In this study, we investigate the aerosol optical depth (AOD) variations in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) between its plains and alpine regions and the corresponding consequences on the energy balance on the Himalayan glaciers. For this purpose, AOD data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS, MOD-L3), Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), India, and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) were analyzed. Aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) was assessed using the atmospheric radiation transfer model (RTM) integrated into AERONET inversion code based on the Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer (DISORT) module. Further, air mass trajectory over the entire IHR was analyzed using a hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. We estimated that between 2001 and 2015, the monthly average ARF at the surface (ARFSFC), top of the atmosphere (ARFTOA), and atmosphere (ARFATM) were −89.6 ± 18.6 Wm−2, −25.2 ± 6.8 Wm−2, and +64.4 ± 16.5 Wm−2, respectively. We observed that during dust aerosol transport days, the ARFSFC and TOA changed by −112.2 and −40.7 Wm−2, respectively, compared with low aerosol loading days, thereby accounting for the decrease in the solar radiation by 207% reaching the surface. This substantial decrease in the solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface increases the heating rate in the atmosphere by 3.1-fold, thereby acting as an additional forcing factor for accelerated melting of the snow and glacier resources of the IHR.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 2485-2500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Garnier ◽  
Thierry Trémas ◽  
Jacques Pelon ◽  
Kam-Pui Lee ◽  
Delphine Nobileau ◽  
...  

Abstract. Version 2 of the Level 1b calibrated radiances of the Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) on board the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite has been released recently. This new version incorporates corrections of small but systematic seasonal calibration biases previously revealed in Version 1 data products mostly north of 30∘ N. These biases – of different amplitudes in the three IIR channels 8.65 µm (IIR1), 10.6 µm (IIR2), and 12.05 µm (IIR3) – were made apparent by a striping effect in images of IIR inter-channel brightness temperature differences (BTDs) and through seasonal warm biases of nighttime IIR brightness temperatures in the 30–60∘ N latitude range. The latter were highlighted through observed and simulated comparisons with similar channels of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Aqua spacecraft. To characterize the calibration biases affecting Version 1 data, a semi-empirical approach is developed, which is based on the in-depth analysis of the IIR internal calibration procedure in conjunction with observations such as statistical comparisons with similar MODIS/Aqua channels. Two types of calibration biases are revealed: an equalization bias affecting part of the individual IIR images and a global bias affecting the radiometric level of each image. These biases are observed only when the temperature of the instrument increases, and they are found to be functions of elapsed time since night-to-day transition, regardless of the season. Correction coefficients of Version 1 radiances could thus be defined and implemented in the Version 2 code. As a result, the striping effect seen in Version 1 is significantly attenuated in Version 2. Systematic discrepancies between nighttime and daytime IIR–MODIS BTDs in the 30–60∘ N latitude range in summer are reduced from 0.2 K in Version 1 to 0.1 K in Version 2 for IIR1–MODIS29. For IIR2–MODIS31 and IIR3–MODIS32, they are reduced from 0.4 K to close to zero, except for IIR3–MODIS32 in June, where the night-minus-day difference is around −0.1 K.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 11389-11407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larisa Sogacheva ◽  
Gerrit de Leeuw ◽  
Edith Rodriguez ◽  
Pekka Kolmonen ◽  
Aristeidis K. Georgoulias ◽  
...  

Abstract. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) patterns and interannual and seasonal variations over China are discussed based on the AOD retrieved from the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR-2, 1995–2002), the Advanced ATSR (AATSR, 2002–2012) (together ATSR) and the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite (2000–2017). The AOD products used were the ATSR Dual View (ADV) v2.31 AOD and the MODIS/Terra Collection 6.1 (C6.1) merged dark target (DT) and deep blue (DB) AOD product. Together these datasets provide an AOD time series for 23 years, from 1995 to 2017. The difference between the AOD values retrieved from ATSR-2 and AATSR is small, as shown by pixel-by-pixel and monthly aggregate comparisons as well as validation results. This allows for the combination of the ATSR-2 and AATSR AOD time series into one dataset without offset correction. ADV and MODIS AOD validation results show similar high correlations with the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) AOD (0.88 and 0.92, respectively), while the corresponding bias is positive for MODIS (0.06) and negative for ADV (−0.07). Validation of the AOD products in similar conditions, when ATSR and MODIS/Terra overpasses are within 90 min of each other and when both ADV and MODIS retrieve AOD around AERONET locations, show that ADV performs better than MODIS in autumn, while MODIS performs slightly better in spring and summer. In winter, both ADV and MODIS underestimate the AERONET AOD. Similar AOD patterns are observed by ADV and MODIS in annual and seasonal aggregates as well as in time series. ADV–MODIS difference maps show that MODIS AOD is generally higher than that from ADV. Both ADV and MODIS show similar seasonal AOD behavior. The AOD maxima shift from spring in the south to summer along the eastern coast further north. The agreement between sensors regarding year-to-year AOD changes is quite good. During the period from 1995 to 2006 AOD increased in the southeast (SE) of China. Between 2006 and 2011 AOD did not change much, showing minor minima in 2008–2009. From 2011 onward AOD decreased in the SE of China. Similar patterns exist in year-to-year ADV and MODIS annual AOD tendencies in the overlapping period. However, regional differences between the ATSR and MODIS AODs are quite large. The consistency between ATSR and MODIS with regards to the AOD tendencies in the overlapping period is rather strong in summer, autumn and overall for the yearly average; however, in winter and spring, when there is a difference in coverage between the two instruments, the agreement between ATSR and MODIS is lower. AOD tendencies in China during the 1995–2017 period will be discussed in more detail in Part 2 (a following paper: Sogacheva et al., 2018), where a method to combine AOD time series from ADV and MODIS is introduced, and combined AOD time series are analyzed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daxiang Xiang ◽  
Liangming Liu ◽  
Qiao Wang ◽  
Na Yang ◽  
Tao Han

FY-3A is the second Chinese Polar Orbital Meteorological Satellite with global, three-dimensional, quantitative, and multispectral capabilities. Its missions include monitoring global disasters and environment changes. This study describes some basic parameters and major technical indicators of the FY-3A and evaluates data quality and drought monitoring capability of the Medium-Resolution Imager (MERSI) onboard the FY-3A. Data obtained with the MERSI was compared with that of the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), imaged at the same time period and geographic zone. In addition, the Temperature/Vegetation Drought Index (TVDI), a highly accurate and stable monitoring model, was used to monitor drought condition with MERSI and MODIS sensors. It is found in the study that the relative accuracy of data, obtained with these two devices, was consistent with the acceptable overall accuracy of 93.8. Furthermore, spatial resolution of MERSI is superior as compared to that of MODIS. Therefore, FY-3A MERSI can serve a reliable and new data source for drought monitoring.


Author(s):  
B. Y. Yang ◽  
J. Liu ◽  
X. Jia

Abstract. Cirrus plays an important role in atmospheric radiation. It affects weather system and climate change. Satellite remote sensing is an important kind of observation for cloud. As a passive remote sensing instrument, large bias was found for thin cirrus cloud top height retrieval from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer). Comparatively, CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) aboard CALIPSO (Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) which is an active remote sensing instrument can acquire more accurate characteristics of thin cirrus cloud. In this study, CALIPSO cirrus cloud top height data was used to correct MODIS cirrus cloud top height. The data analysis area was selected in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and data came from 2013 to 2017. Linear fitting method was selected based on cross-validation method between MODIS and CALIPSO data. The results shows that the difference between MODIS and CALIPSO changes from −3~2 km to −2.0~2.5 km, and the maximum difference changes from about −0.8 km to about 0.2 km. In the context of different vertical levels and cloud optical depth, MODIS cirrus cloud top height is improved after correcting, which is more obvious at lower cloud top height and optical thinner cirrus.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 12629-12664 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.-H. Ham ◽  
B. J. Sohn

Abstract. To examine the calibration performance of the Meteosat-8/9 Spinning Enhanced Visible Infra-Red Imager (SEVIRI) 0.640-μm and the Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT)-1R 0.724-μm channels, three calibration methods were employed. First, a ray-matching technique was used to compare Meteosat-8/9 and MTSAT-1R visible channel reflectances with the well-calibrated Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 0.646-μm channel reflectances. Spectral differences of the response function between the two channels of interest were taken into account for the comparison. Second, collocated MODIS cloud products were used as inputs to a radiative transfer model to calculate Meteosat-8/9 and MTSAT-1R visible channel reflectances. In the simulation, the three-dimensional radiative effect of clouds was taken into account and was subtracted from the simulated reflectance to remove the simulation bias caused by the plane-parallel assumption. Third, an independent method used the typical optical properties of deep convective clouds (DCCs) to simulate reflectances of selected DCC targets. Although the three methods were not in perfect agreement, the results suggest that calibration accuracies were within 5–10% for the Meteosat-8 0.640-μm channel, 4–9% for the Meteosat-9 0.640-μm channel, and up to 20% for the MTSAT-1R 0.724-μm channel. The results further suggest that the solar channel calibration scheme combining the three methods in this paper can be used as a tool to monitor the calibration performance of visible sensors that are particularly not equipped with an onboard calibration system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 3693
Author(s):  
Hongyu Zhao ◽  
Xiaohua Hao ◽  
Jian Wang ◽  
Hongyi Li ◽  
Guanghui Huang ◽  
...  

Endmember extraction is a primary and indispensable component of the spectral mixing analysis model applicated to quantitatively retrieve fractional snow cover (FSC) from satellite observation. In this study, a new endmember extraction algorithm, the spatial–spectral–environmental (SSE) endmember extraction algorithm, is developed, in which spatial, spectral and environmental information are integrated together to automatically extract different types of endmembers from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) images. Then, combining the linear spectral mixture analysis model (LSMA), the SSE endmember extraction algorithm is practically applied to retrieve FSC from standard MODIS surface reflectance products in China. The new algorithm of MODIS FSC retrieval is named as SSEmod. The accuracy of SSEmod is quantitatively validated with 16 higher spatial-resolution FSC maps derived from Landsat 8 binary snow cover maps. Averaged over all regions, the average root-mean-square-error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) are 0.136 and 0.092, respectively. Simultaneously, we also compared the SSEmod with MODImLAB, MODSCAG and MOD10A1. In all regions, the average RMSE of SSEmod is improved by 2.3%, 2.6% and 5.3% compared to MODImLAB for 0.157, MODSCAG for 0.157 and MOD10A1 for 0.189. Therefore, our SSE endmember extraction algorithm is reliable for the MODIS FSC retrieval and may be also promising to apply other similar satellites in view of its accuracy and efficiency.


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