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Reconciling Satellite-Derived Atmospheric Properties with Fine-Resolution Land Imagery: Insights for Atmospheric CorrectionThis paper investigates to what extent satellite measurements of atmospheric properties can be reconciled with fine-resolution land imagery, in order to improve the estimates of surface reflectance through physically based atmospheric correction. The analysis deals with mountainous area (Landsat scene of Peruvian Amazon/Andes, 72 E and 13 S), where the atmosphere is highly variable. Data from satellite sensors were used for characterization of the key atmospheric constituents: total water vapor (TWV), aerosol optical depth (AOD), and total ozone. Constituent time series revealed the season-dependent mean state of the atmosphere and its variability. Discrepancies between AOD from the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) highlighted substantial uncertainty of atmospheric aerosol properties. The distribution of TWV and AOD over a Landsat scene was found to be exponentially related to ground elevation (mean R(sup 2) of 0.82 and 0.29, respectively). In consequence, the atmosphere-induced and seasonally varying bias of the top-of-atmosphere signal was also elevation dependent (e.g., mean Normalized Difference Vegetation Index bias at 500 m was 0.06 and at 4000 m was 0.01). We demonstrate that satellite measurements of key atmospheric constituents can be downscaled and gap filled with the proposed "background + anomalies" approach, to allow for a better compatibility with fine-resolution land surface imagery. Older images (i.e., predating the MODIS/ATSR era), without coincident atmospheric data, can be corrected using climatologies derived from time series of satellite retrievals. Averaging such climatologies over space compromises the quality of correction result to a much greater degree than averaging them over time. We conclude that the quality of both recent and older fine-resolution land surface imagery can be improved with satellite-based atmospheric data acquired to date.
Document ID
20120003976
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Zelazowski, Przemyslaw
(Oxford Univ. Oxford, United Kingdom)
Sayer, Andrew M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Thomas, Gareth E
(Oxford Univ. Oxford, United Kingdom)
Grainger, Roy G.
(Oxford Univ. Oxford, United Kingdom)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
September 30, 2011
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 116
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.JA.5780.2011
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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