scholarly journals First observations of global and seasonal terrestrial chlorophyll fluorescence from space

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 637-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Joiner ◽  
Y. Yoshida ◽  
A. P. Vasilkov ◽  
Y. Yoshida ◽  
L. A. Corp ◽  
...  

Abstract. Remote sensing of terrestrial vegetation fluorescence from space is of interest because it can potentially provide global coverage of the functional status of vegetation. For example, fluorescence observations may provide a means to detect vegetation stress before chlorophyll reductions take place. Although there have been many measurements of fluorescence from ground- and airborne-based instruments, there has been scant information available from satellites. In this work, we use high-spectral resolution data from the Thermal And Near-infrared Sensor for carbon Observation – Fourier Transform Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) on the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) that is in a sun-synchronous orbit with an equator crossing time near 13:00 LT. We use filling-in of the potassium (K) I solar Fraunhofer line near 770 nm to derive chlorophyll fluorescence and related parameters such as the fluorescence yield at that wavelength. We map these parameters globally for two months (July and December 2009) and show a full seasonal cycle for several different locations, including two in the Amazonia region. We also compare the derived fluorescence information with that provided by the MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). These comparisons show that for several areas these two indices exhibit different seasonality and/or relative intensity variations, and that changes in fluorescence frequently lead those seen in the EVI for those regions. The derived fluorescence therefore provides information that is related to, but independent of the reflectance.

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 8281-8318 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Joiner ◽  
Y. Yoshida ◽  
A. P. Vasilkov ◽  
Y. Yoshida ◽  
L. A. Corp ◽  
...  

Abstract. Remote sensing of terrestrial vegetation fluorescence from space is of interest because it can potentially provide global coverage of the functional status of vegetation. For example, fluorescence observations may provide a means to detect vegetation stress before chlorophyll reductions take place. Although there have been many measurements of fluorescence from ground- and airborne-based instruments, there has been scant information available from satellites. In this work, we use high-spectral resolution data from the Thermal And Near-infrared Sensor for carbon Observation – Fourier Transform Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) on the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) that is in a sun-synchronous orbit with an equator crossing time near 13:00 LT. We use filling-in of the potassium (K) I solar Fraunhofer line near 770 nm to derive chlorophyll fluorescence and related parameters such as the fluorescence quantum yield at that wavelength. We map these parameters globally for two months (July and December 2009) and show a full seasonal cycle for several different locations, including two in the Amazonia region. We also compare the derived fluorescence information with that provided by the MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). These comparisons show that for several areas these two indices exhibit different seasonality and/or relative intensity variations, and that changes in fluorescence frequently lead those seen in the EVI for those regions. The derived fluorescence therefore provides information that is related to, but independent of the reflectance.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 809-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Joiner ◽  
Y. Yoshida ◽  
A. P. Vasilkov ◽  
E. M. Middleton ◽  
P. K. E. Campbell ◽  
...  

Abstract. Global mapping of terrestrial vegetation fluorescence from space has recently been accomplished with high spectral resolution (ν/Δν > 35 000) measurements from the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). These data are of interest because they can potentially provide global information on the functional status of vegetation including light-use efficiency and global primary productivity that can be used for global carbon cycle modeling. Quantifying the impact of fluorescence on the O2-A band is important as this band is used for photon pathlength characterization in cloud- and aerosol-contaminated pixels for trace-gas retrievals including CO2. Here, we examine whether fluorescence information can be derived from space using potentially lower-cost hyperspectral instrumentation, i.e., more than an order of magnitude less spectral resolution (ν/Δν ~ 1600) than GOSAT, with a relatively simple algorithm. We discuss laboratory measurements of fluorescence near one of the few wide and deep solar Fraunhofer lines in the long-wave tail of the fluorescence emission region, the calcium (Ca) II line at 866 nm that is observable with a spectral resolution of ~0.5 nm. The filling-in of the Ca II line due to additive signals from various atmospheric and terrestrial effects, including fluorescence, is simulated. We then examine filling-in of this line using the SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) satellite instrument. In order to interpret the satellite measurements, we developed a general approach to correct for various instrumental artifacts that produce false filling-in of solar lines in satellite measurements. The approach is applied to SCIAMACHY at the 866 nm Ca II line and to GOSAT at 758 and 770 nm on the shoulders of the O2-A feature where there are several strong solar Fraunhofer lines that are filled in primarily by vegetation fluorescence. Finally, we compare temporal and spatial variations of SCIAMACHY additive signals with those of GOSAT and the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) from the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Although the derived additive signals from SCIAMACHY are extremely weak at 866 nm, their spatial and temporal variations are consistent with chlorophyll a fluorescence or another vegetation-related source. We also show that filling-in occurs at 866 nm over some barren areas, possibly originating from luminescent minerals in rock and soil.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 11891-11934 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Perez-Priego ◽  
J. Guan ◽  
M. Rossini ◽  
F. Fava ◽  
T. Wutzler ◽  
...  

Abstract. This study investigates the performances of different optical indices to estimate gross primary production (GPP) of herbaceous stratum in a Mediterranean savanna with different Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorous (P) availability. Sun-induced chlorophyll Fluorescence yield computed at 760 nm (Fy760), scaled-photochemical reflectance index (sPRI), MERIS terrestrial-chlorophyll index (MTCI) and Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were computed from near-surface field spectroscopy measurements collected using high spectral resolution spectrometers covering the visible near-infrared regions. GPP was measured using canopy-chambers on the same locations sampled by the spectrometers. We hypothesized that light-use efficiency (LUE) models driven by remote sensing quantities (RSM) can better track changes in GPP caused by nutrient supplies compared to those driven exclusively by meteorological data (MM). Particularly, we compared the performances of different RSM formulations – relying on the use of Fy760 or sPRI as proxy for LUE and NDVI or MTCI as fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR) – with those of classical MM. Results showed significantly higher GPP in the N fertilized experimental plots during the growing period. These differences in GPP disappeared in the drying period when senescence effects masked out potential differences due to plant N content. Consequently, although MTCI was tightly related to plant N content (r2 = 0.86, p < 0.01), it was poorly related to GPP (r2 = 0.45, p < 0.05). On the contrary sPRI and Fy760 correlated well with GPP during the whole measurement period. Results revealed that the relationship between GPP and Fy760 is not unique across treatments but it is affected by N availability. Results from a cross validation analysis showed that MM (AICcv = 127, MEcv = 0.879) outperformed RSM (AICcv = 140, MEcv = 0.8737) when soil moisture was used to constrain the seasonal dynamic of LUE. However, residual analyses demonstrated that MM is predictively inaccurate whenever no climatic variable explicitly reveals nutrient-related changes in the LUE parameter. These results put forward that RSM is a valuable means to diagnose nutrient-induced effects on the photosynthetic activity.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Joiner ◽  
Y. Yoshida ◽  
A. P. Vasilkov ◽  
E. M. Middleton ◽  
P. K. E. Campbell ◽  
...  

Abstract. Global mapping of terrestrial vegetation fluorescence from space has recently been accomplished with high spectral resolution (ν/Δν>35 000) measurements from the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). These data are of interest because they can potentially provide global information on the functional status of vegetation including light use efficiency and global primary productivity that can be used for global carbon cycle modeling. Quantifying the impact of fluorescence on the O2-A band is important as this band is used for cloud- and aerosol-characterization for other trace-gas retrievals including CO2. Here, we explore whether fluorescence information can be derived from space using potentially lower-cost hyperspectral instrumentation, i.e., more than an order of magnitude less spectral resolution (ν/Δν ∼1600) than GOSAT, with a relatively simple algorithm. We simulate the filling-in, from various atmospheric and terrestrial effects, of one of the few wide and deep solar Fraunhofer lines in the long-wave tail of the fluorescence emission region, the calcium (Ca) II line near 866 nm. We then examine filling-in of this line using the SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) satellite instrument. We develop and apply methodology to correct for various instrumental artifacts that produce false filling-in of solar lines in satellite radiance measurements. We then compare the derived additive near-InfraRed (NIR) signal at 866 nm, that fills in the Ca II line, with larger signals retrieved at 758 and 770 nm on the shoulders of the O2-A feature from GOSAT that are presumably due primarily to vegetation fluorescence. Finally, we compare temporal and spatial variations of GOSAT and SCIAMACHY additive signals with those of the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) from the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Although the observed filling-in signal from SCIAMACHY is extremely weak at 866 nm, the spatial and temporal patterns of the derived additive signal are consistent with a vegetation source, chlorophyll-a fluorescence being a plausible candidate. We also show that filling-in occurs at 866 nm over some barren areas, possibly originating from luminescent minerals in rock and soil.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Wohlfahrt ◽  
Albin Hammerle ◽  
Barbara Rainer ◽  
Florian Haas

&lt;p&gt;Ongoing changes in climate (both in the means and the extremes) are increasingly challenging grapevine production in the province of South Tyrol (Italy). Here we ask the question whether sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) observed remotely from space can detect early warning signs of stress in grapevine and thus help guide mitigation measures.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Chlorophyll fluorescence refers to light absorbed by chlorophyll molecules that is re-emitted in the red to far-red wavelength region. Previous research at leaf and canopy scale indicated that SIF correlates with the plant photosynthetic uptake of carbon dioxide as it competes for the same energy pool.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To address this question, we use time series of two down-scaled SIF products (GOME-2 and OCO-2, 2007/14-2018) as well as the original OCO-2 data (2014-2019). As a benchmark, we use several vegetation indices related to canopy greenness, as well as a novel near-infrared radiation-based vegetation index (2000-2019). Meteorological data fields are used to explore possible weather-related causes for observed deviations in remote sensing data. Regional DOC grapevine census data (2000-2019) are used as a reference for the analyses.&lt;/p&gt;


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 2290
Author(s):  
Rui Chen ◽  
Gaofei Yin ◽  
Guoxiang Liu ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Aleixandre Verger

The normalization of topographic effects on vegetation indices (VIs) is a prerequisite for their proper use in mountainous areas. We assessed the topographic effects on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), the soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), and the near-infrared reflectance of terrestrial vegetation (NIRv) calculated from Sentinel-2. The evaluation was based on two criteria: the correlation with local illumination condition and the dependence on aspect. Results show that topographic effects can be neglected for the NDVI, while they heavily influence the SAVI, EVI, and NIRv: the local illumination condition explains 19.85%, 25.37%, and 26.69% of the variation of the SAVI, EVI, and NIRv, respectively, and the coefficients of variation across different aspects are, respectively, 8.13%, 10.46%, and 14.07%. We demonstrated the applicability of existing correction methods, including statistical-empirical (SE), sun-canopy-sensor with C-correction (SCS + C), and path length correction (PLC), dedicatedly designed for reflectance, to normalize topographic effects on VIs. Our study will benefit vegetation monitoring with VIs over mountainous areas.


2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 3883-3930 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Joiner ◽  
L. Guanter ◽  
R. Lindstrot ◽  
M. Voigt ◽  
A. P. Vasilkov ◽  
...  

Abstract. Globally mapped terrestrial chlorophyll fluorescence retrievals are of high interest because they can provide information on the functional status of vegetation including light-use efficiency and global primary productivity that can be used for global carbon cycle modeling and agricultural applications. In addition, fluorescence can contaminate photon path estimates from the O2 A-band that has become an integral part of missions to accurately measure greenhouse gas concentrations. Global mapping of far-red (~ 755–770 nm) terrestrial vegetation solar-induced fluorescence from space has been accomplished using the high spectral resolution (ν/Δ ν > 35 000) interferometer on the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). These satellite retrievals of fluorescence rely solely upon the filling-in of solar Fraunhofer lines that are not significantly affected by atmospheric absorption. Although these measurements provide near global coverage on a monthly basis, they suffer from relatively low precision and sparse spatial sampling. Here, we describe a new methodology to retrieve global far-red fluorescence information; we use hyperspectral data to disentangle the spectral signatures of three basic components in and surrounding the O2 A-band: atmospheric absorption, surface reflectance, and fluorescence radiance. Through detailed simulations, we demonstrate the feasibility of the approach and show that moderate spectral resolution measurements with a relatively high signal-to-noise ratio within and outside the O2 A-band can be used to retrieve far-red fluorescence information with good precision and accuracy. The method is then applied to data from the Global Ozone Monitoring Instrument 2 (GOME-2). The GOME-2 fluorescence retrievals display similar spatial structure as compared with GOSAT. GOME-2 enables global mapping of far-red fluorescence with higher precision over smaller spatial and temporal scales than is possible with GOSAT. It should be noted that both GOME-2 and GOSAT were designed to make atmospheric trace gas measurements and were not optimized for fluorescence measurements. Our approach can be applied to other existing and future space-based instruments that provide moderate spectral resolution observations in the near-infrared region.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 3097-3145
Author(s):  
S. A. McFarlane ◽  
K. L. Gaustad ◽  
E. J. Mlawer ◽  
C. N. Long ◽  
J. Delamere

Abstract. We present a method for identifying dominant surface type and estimating high spectral resolution surface albedo at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) facility at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma for use in radiative transfer calculations. Given a set of 6-channel narrowband visible and near-infrared irradiance measurements from upward and downward looking multi-filter radiometers (MFRs), four different surface types (snow-covered, green vegetation, partial vegetation, non-vegetated) can be identified. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to distinguish between vegetated and non-vegetated surfaces, and a scaled NDVI index is used to estimate the percentage of green vegetation in partially vegetated surfaces. Based on libraries of spectral albedo measurements, a piecewise continuous function is developed to estimate the high spectral resolution surface albedo for each surface type given the MFR albedo values as input. For partially vegetated surfaces, the albedo is estimated as a linear combination of the green vegetation and non-vegetated surface albedo values. The estimated albedo values are evaluated through comparison to high spectral resolution albedo measurements taken during several Intensive Observational Periods (IOPs) and through comparison of the integrated spectral albedo values to observed broadband albedo measurements. The estimated spectral albedo values agree well with observations for the visible wavelengths constrained by the MFR measurements, but have larger biases and variability at longer wavelengths. Additional MFR channels at 1100 nm and/or 1600 nm would help constrain the high resolution spectral albedo in the near infrared region.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 2980
Author(s):  
Jae-Hyun Ryu ◽  
Sang-Il Na ◽  
Jaeil Cho

Remote sensing techniques using visible and near-infrared wavelengths are useful for monitoring terrestrial vegetation. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is a widely used proxy of vegetation conditions, and it has been measured at various footprint sizes using satellite, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and ground-installed sensors. The goal of this study was to analyze the spatial characteristics of NDVI data by comparing the values obtained at different footprint sizes. In particular, the NDVI was evaluated in garlic and onion fields that featured ridges and furrows. The evaluation was performed using data from a leaf spectrometer, field spectrometers, ground-installed spectral reflectance sensors, a multispectral camera onboard a UAV, and Sentinel-2 satellites. The correlation coefficients between NDVIs evaluated from the various sensors (excluding the satellite-mounted sensors) ranged from 0.628 to 0.944. The UAV-based NDVI (NDVIUAV) exhibited the lowest root mean square error (RMSE = 0.088) when compared with field spectrometer data. On the other hand, the satellite-based NDVI data (NDVISentinel-2) were poorly correlated with those obtained from the other sensors as a result of the footprint mismatch. However, by upscaling the NDVIUAV data to the pixel size of Sentinel-2, the comparison was improved, and the following statistics were obtained: correlation coefficient: 0.504–0.785; absolute bias: 0.048–0.078; RMSE: 0.063–0.094. According to the aforementioned results, ground-based NDVI data can be used to validate NDVIUAV data without further processing and NDVIUAV data can be used to validate NDVISentinel-2 data after upscaling to the Sentinel-2 pixel size. Overall, the results presented in this study may be helpful to understand and integrate NDVI data at different spatial scales.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 2843-2857
Author(s):  
Anteneh Getachew Mengistu ◽  
Gizaw Mengistu Tsidu ◽  
Gerbrand Koren ◽  
Maurits L. Kooreman ◽  
K. Folkert Boersma ◽  
...  

Abstract. The carbon cycle of tropical terrestrial vegetation plays a vital role in the storage and exchange of atmospheric CO2. But large uncertainties surround the impacts of land-use change emissions, climate warming, the frequency of droughts, and CO2 fertilization. This culminates in poorly quantified carbon stocks and carbon fluxes even for the major ecosystems of Africa (savannas and tropical evergreen forests). Contributors to this uncertainty are the sparsity of (micro-)meteorological observations across Africa's vast land area, a lack of sufficient ground-based observation networks and validation data for CO2, and incomplete representation of important processes in numerical models. In this study, we therefore turn to two remotely sensed vegetation products that have been shown to correlate highly with gross primary production (GPP): sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) and near-infrared reflectance of vegetation (NIRv). The former is available from an updated product that we recently published (Sun-Induced Fluorescence of Terrestrial Ecosystems Retrieval – SIFTER v2), which specifically improves retrievals in tropical environments. A comparison against flux tower observations of daytime-partitioned net ecosystem exchange from six major biomes in Africa shows that SIF and NIRv reproduce the seasonal patterns of GPP well, resulting in correlation coefficients of >0.9 (N=12 months, four sites) over savannas in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. These coefficients are slightly higher than for the widely used Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC) GPP products and enhanced vegetation index (EVI). Similarly to SIF signals in the neighboring Amazon, peak productivity occurs in the wet season coinciding with peak soil moisture and is followed by an initial decline during the early dry season, which reverses when light availability peaks. This suggests similar leaf dynamics are at play. Spatially, SIF and NIRv show a strong linear relation (R>0.9; N≥250 pixels) with multi-year MPI-BGC GPP even within single biomes. Both MPI-BGC GPP and the EVI show saturation relative to peak NIRv and SIF signals during high-productivity months, which suggests that GPP in the most productive regions of Africa might be larger than suggested.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document