Spatio-temporal Characteristics of Area Coverage and Observation Geometry of the MISR Land-surface BRF Product: A Case Study of the Central Part of Northeast Asia

The Multi-angle imaging spectroradiometer(MISR) land-surface(LS) bidirectional reflectance factor(BRF) product(MILS_BRF) has unique semi-simultaneous multi-angle sampling and global coverage. However, unlike on-satellite observations, the spatio-temporal characteristics of MILS_BRF data have rarely been explicitly and comprehensively analysed. Results from 5-yr(2011–2015) of MILS_BRF dataset from a typical region in central Northeast Asia as the study area showed that the monthly area coverage as well as MILS_BRF data quantity varies significantly, from the highest in October(99.05%) through median in June/July(78.09%/75.21%) to lowest in January(18.97%), and a large data-vacant area exists in the study area during four consecutive winter months(December through March). The data-vacant area is mainly composed of crop lands and cropland/natural vegetation mosaic. The amount of data within the principal plane(PP)±30°(nPP) or cross PP ±30°(nCP), varies intra-annually with significant differences from different view zeniths or forward/backward scattering directions. For example, multiple off-nadir cameras have nPP but no nCP data for up to six months(September through February), with the opposite occurring in June and July. This study provides explicit and comprehensive information about the spatio-temporal characteristics of product coverage and observation geometry of MILS_BRF in the study area. Results provide required user reference information for MILS_BRF to evaluate performance of BRDF models or to compare with other satellite-derived BRF or albedo products. Comparing this final product to on-satellite observations, what was found here reveals a new perspective on product spatial coverage and observation geometry for multi-angle remote sensing.

Estimation of aerosol properties over the Chinese desert region with MODIS AOD assimilation in a global model

A Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter assimilation system has been implemented into an aerosol-coupled global nonhydrostatic model to simulate the aerosol mass concentration and aerosol optical properties of 3 desert sites(Ansai, Fukang, Shapotou) in northwestern China. One-month experiment results of April 2006 reveal that the data assimilation can correct the much overestimated aerosol surface mass concentration, and has a strong positive effect on the aerosol optical depth(AOD) simulation, improving agreement with observations. Improvement is limited with the?ngstr€om Exponent(AE) simulation, except for much improved correlation coefficient and model skill scores over the Ansai site. Better agreement of the AOD spatial distribution with the independent observations of Terra(Deep Blue) and Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer(MISR) AODs is obtained by assimilating the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) AOD product, especially for regions with AODs lower than 0.30. This study confirms the usefulness of the remote sensing observations for the improvement of global aerosol modeling.

基于多角度成像光谱仪(MISR)数据的中国野火烟羽喷射高度

烟羽喷射高度是烟气羽流运动一个关键驱动因素,决定了烟气气溶胶在大气中的寿命、顺风运输扩散路径及其对大气环境的影响程度。本研究对最新的多角度成像光谱仪(MISR)野火烟羽高度数据库中的原始数据进行提取和处理,获取中国区域的野火羽流高度相关参数,采用统计分析的方法研究野火烟羽喷射高度的变化情况,探究了火灾特征(燃烧生物质类型和火灾辐射功率)对烟羽喷射高度的影响,并根据高喷射烟羽比例和烟羽气溶胶光学厚度(AOD)值分析野火烟羽喷射高度对大气环境的影响。结果表明:我国野火烟羽喷射高度分布在345~7719 m。其中,57.1%的烟羽喷射高度分布在500~1000 m,除了一组大型草原火灾烟羽喷射高度异常高以外,其余野火烟羽喷射高度均低于3000 m。燃烧的生物质类型是影响烟羽喷射高度的一个重要因素,其中,森林火灾产生的烟羽喷射高度最高且高度变化最强烈。野火烟羽喷射高度会随火灾辐射功率值增加而增加,但有明显的离散(R^(2)=0.19)。通过设定简化阈值可以得到,我国野火产生的可能造成远距离传输污染的高喷射烟羽比例为10.5%。结合烟气气溶胶光学厚度进行分析可知,虽然农田燃烧的平均烟羽喷射高度最低,但产生的区域污染值最大。相比之下,森林火灾虽然能够产生最高的烟羽喷射高度,但烟羽具有较低的平均AOD值,这意味着森林火灾对区域大气环境的污染强度相对较弱。