# Presentation: 763186

## Promise and Capability of NASA’s Earth Observing System to Monitor Human-Induced Climate Variations

- Earth science spacecraft in orbit
- Examples from Terra & Aqua
- Aerosol optical properties
- Land cover classification
- Surface reflectance
- Fire
- Cloud optical & microphysical properties
- Examples from Landsat 7 & Ikonos
- Data availability & status

*Michael D. King*
- EOS Senior Project Scientist
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

## NASA Earth Science Spacecraft in Orbitof Importance to Studies of Human-Induced Climate

**Landsat 7**
**4/15/99**

- NASA Earth Science Spacecraft in Orbitof Importance to Studies of Human-Induced Climate

**Terra**
**12/18/99**

**Aqua**
**5/4/02**

**TRMM**
**11/27/97**

## Altitude of 705 km
Near-polar, sun-synchronous, orbiting the Earth every 98.8 minutes, crossing the equator going north at 1:30 p.m. and going south at 1:30 a.m.

- Near-polar, sun-synchronous, orbiting the Earth every 98.8 minutes, crossing the equator going north at 1:30 p.m. and going south at 1:30 a.m.

- Aqua’s Orbit

## MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)

- NASA, Terra & Aqua
- launched 1999, 2002
- 705 km polar orbits, descending (10:30 a.m.) & ascending (1:30 p.m.)
- Sensor Characteristics
- 36 spectral bands ranging from 0.41 to 14.385 μm
- cross-track scan mirror with 2330 km swath width
- Spatial resolutions:
- 250 m (bands 1 - 2)
- 500 m (bands 3 - 7)
- 1000 m (bands 8 - 36)
- 2% reflectance calibration accuracy
- onboard solar diffuser & solar diffuser stability monitor

## Global Level-1B Composite Image

- G	=	0.56 μm
- B	=	0.47 μm

- Terra
- May 28, 2001

## MODIS Aerosol Product(Y. J. Kaufman, L. A. Remer, D. Tanré – NASA GSFC, University of Lille)

- Seven MODIS bands are utilized to derive aerosol properties
- 0.47, 0.55, 0.65, 0.86, 1.24, 1.64, and 2.13 μm
- Ocean
- reflectance contrast between cloud-free atmosphere and ocean reflectance (dark)
- aerosol optical thickness (0.55-2.13 μm)
- size distribution characteristics (fraction of aerosol optical thickness in the fine particle mode; effective radius)
- Land
- dense dark vegetation and semi-arid regions determined where aerosol is most transparent (2.13 μm)
- contrast between Earth-atmosphere reflectance and that for dense dark vegetation surface (0.47 and 0.66 μm)
- aerosol optical thickness (0.47 and 0.66 μm)
- fraction of aerosol optical thickness in the fine particle mode

## Terra/MODIS Level-1B Image

- G	=	0.56 μm
- B	=	0.47 μm

- May 4, 2001
- 1535 UTC

## Terra/MODIS Retrieval of Aerosol Optical Thickness

- sunglint

- Aerosol Optical Thickness

- 0.0

- 0.6

- 1.0

- 0.8

- 0.4

- 0.2

- R	=	0.65 μm
- G	=	0.56 μm
- B	=	0.47 μm

- May 4, 2001
- 1535 UTC

## Aerosol Optical Thickness(Y. J. Kaufman, D. Tanré, D. A. Chu, L. A. Remer et al. – NASA GSFC, University of Lille)

- Fine mode

**a (0.55 μm)

- 0.0

- 0.1

- 0.2

- 0.3

- 0.4

- 0.8

- 0.7

- 0.5

- 0.6

- Aerosol Optical Thickness(Y. J. Kaufman, D. Tanré, D. A. Chu, L. A. Remer et al. – NASA GSFC, University of Lille)

- Level-3 Monthly
- September 2000

## Aerosol Optical Thickness(Y. J. Kaufman, D. Tanré, D. A. Chu, L. A. Remer et al. – NASA GSFC, University of Lille)

- Aerosol Optical Thickness(Y. J. Kaufman, D. Tanré, D. A. Chu, L. A. Remer et al. – NASA GSFC, University of Lille)

**a (0.55 μm)

- 0.0

- 0.1

- 0.2

- 0.4

- 0.3

- Level-3 Monthly
- September 2000

## Aerosol Optical Thickness in New York City(Menglin Jin – University of Maryland)

- Aerosol Optical Thickness in New York City(Menglin Jin – University of Maryland)

- 0.5

- 0.4

- 0.3

- 0.2

- 0.1

- Aerosol Optical Thickness

- Sunday

- Monday

- Tuesday

- Wednesday

- Thursday

- Friday

- Saturday

- AERONET, GISS, June-September 2001

## MODIS Land Cover Classification(A. H. Strahler, C. B. Schaaf – Boston University)

- 0 Water

- 1 Evergreen Needleleaf Forest

- 2 Evergreen Broadleaf Forest

- 3 Deciduous Needleleaf Forest

- 4 Deciduous Broadleaf Forest

- 5 Mixed Forests

- 6 Closed Shrublands

- 7 Open Shrublands

- 8 Woody Savannas

- 9 Savannas

- 10 Grasslands

- 11 Permanent Wetlands

- 12 Croplands

- 13 Urban and Built-Up

- 14 Cropland/Natural Veg. Mosaic

- 15 Snow and Ice

- 16 Barren or Sparsely Vegetated

- 17 Tundra

- MODIS Land Cover Classification(A. H. Strahler, C. B. Schaaf – Boston University)

## MODIS Land Cover Classification(A. H. Strahler, C. B. Schaaf – Boston University)

## MODIS Equal Area IGBP Ecosystem Classification Statistics

## MODIS Land Cover Classification for Atlanta

- 0 Water

- 1 Evergreen Needleleaf Forest

- 2 Evergreen Broadleaf Forest

- 3 Deciduous Needleleaf Forest

- 4 Deciduous Broadleaf Forest

- 5 Mixed Forests

- 6 Closed Shrublands

- 7 Open Shrublands

- 8 Woody Savannas

- 9 Savannas

- 10 Grasslands

- 11 Permanent Wetlands

- 12 Croplands

- 13 Urban and Built-Up

- 14 Cropland/Natural Veg. Mosaic

- 16 Barren or Sparsely Vegetated

## MODIS Land Cover Classification forUpper Midwest

- 0 Water

- 1 Evergreen Needleleaf Forest

- 2 Evergreen Broadleaf Forest

- 3 Deciduous Needleleaf Forest

- 4 Deciduous Broadleaf Forest

- 5 Mixed Forests

- 6 Closed Shrublands

- 7 Open Shrublands

- 8 Woody Savannas

- 9 Savannas

- 10 Grasslands

- 11 Permanent Wetlands

- 12 Croplands

- 13 Urban and Built-Up

- 14 Cropland/Natural Veg. Mosaic

- 16 Barren or Sparsely Vegetated

## MODIS Surface Reflectance(E. G. Moody, M. D. King, S. Platnick, C. B. Schaaf – GSFC, BU)

- MODIS Surface Reflectance(E. G. Moody, M. D. King, S. Platnick, C. B. Schaaf – GSFC, BU)

- July 12-27, 2001
-  = 0.86 μm

- 0.5

- 0.4

- 0.3

- 0.2

- 0.1

- 0.0

## Surface Albedo in Southeast US (E. G. Moody, M. D. King, S. Platnick, C. B. Schaaf – GSFC, BU)

- 0.00

- 0.05

- 0.10

- 0.15

- 0.20

- 0.25

- 0.30

- 0.35

- 0.40

- 0.45

- 0.50

- 0.4

- 0.6

- 0.8

- 1.0

- 1.2

- 1.4

- 1.6

- 1.8

- 2.0

- 2.2

- Surface Albedo in Southeast US (E. G. Moody, M. D. King, S. Platnick, C. B. Schaaf – GSFC, BU)

**White-Sky Albedo Spectra **

**7° x 7° Box Centered Around Atlanta, End of June, 2001**

**Wavelength (μm)**

**Albedo**

**Notes:**
For the time being we’re using ecosystem as a surrogate for surface albedo.

## Surface Albedo in Upper Midwest (E. G. Moody, M. D. King, S. Platnick, C. B. Schaaf – GSFC, BU)

- 0.00

- 0.05

- 0.10

- 0.15

- 0.20

- 0.25

- 0.30

- 0.35

- 0.40

- 0.45

- 0.50

- 0.4

- 0.6

- 0.8

- 1.0

- 1.2

- 1.4

- 1.6

- 1.8

- 2.0

- 2.2

**Wavelength (μm)**

**Albedo**

**White-Sky Albedo Spectra **

**End of July, 2001**

**Notes:**
For the time being we’re using ecosystem as a surrogate for surface albedo.

## Urban Surface Albedo in Upper Midwest (E. G. Moody, M. D. King, S. Platnick, C. B. Schaaf – GSFC, BU)

- Urban Surface Albedo in Upper Midwest (E. G. Moody, M. D. King, S. Platnick, C. B. Schaaf – GSFC, BU)

- 0.00

- 0.05

- 0.10

- 0.15

- 0.20

- 0.25

- 0.30

- 0.35

- 0.40

- 0.45

- 0.50

- 0.4

- 0.6

- 0.8

- 1.0

- 1.2

- 1.4

- 1.6

- 1.8

- 2.0

- 2.2

**Wavelength (μm)**

**White-Sky Albedo Spectra **

**Seasonal Cycle**

**Albedo**

**Notes:**
For the time being we’re using ecosystem as a surrogate for surface albedo.

## Cropland Surface Albedo in Upper Midwest (E. G. Moody, M. D. King, S. Platnick, C. B. Schaaf – GSFC, BU)

- Cropland Surface Albedo in Upper Midwest (E. G. Moody, M. D. King, S. Platnick, C. B. Schaaf – GSFC, BU)

- 0.00

- 0.05

- 0.10

- 0.15

- 0.20

- 0.25

- 0.30

- 0.35

- 0.40

- 0.45

- 0.50

- 0.4

- 0.6

- 0.8

- 1.0

- 1.2

- 1.4

- 1.6

- 1.8

- 2.0

- 2.2

**Wavelength (μm)**

**White-Sky Albedo Spectra **

**Seasonal Cycle**

**Albedo**

- 0.4

**Notes:**
For the time being we’re using ecosystem as a surrogate for surface albedo.

## MODIS Fire Occurrence(C. O. Justice, J. DesCloitres – University of Maryland, NASA GSFC) 

- MODIS Fire Occurrence(C. O. Justice, J. DesCloitres – University of Maryland, NASA GSFC)

- Terra/MODIS
- October 26, 2003** **

## MODIS Fire Occurrence(C. O. Justice, J. DesCloitres – University of Maryland, NASA GSFC) 

- MODIS Fire Occurrence(C. O. Justice, J. DesCloitres – University of Maryland, NASA GSFC)

## MISR Cloud Stereo Height(D. J. Diner, R. Davies et al. – JPL) 

- MISR Cloud Stereo Height(D. J. Diner, R. Davies et al. – JPL)

## MODIS Cloud Product(M. D. King, S. Platnick, W. P. Menzel, B. C. Gao – NASA GSFC, NOAA, NRL)

- Cloud radiative and microphysical properties
- Cloud top pressure, temperature, and effective emissivity
- CO2 slicing for middle and high clouds
- 11 μm brightness temperature for low clouds
- Cloud optical thickness, thermodynamic phase, and effective radius
- cloud phase determined from cloud mask tests, bispectral threshold (8.5 & 11 μm), shortwave infrared tests (1.6 and 2.1 μm), and cloud top temperature
- surface reflectance from MODIS ecosystem and albedo products
- solar reflectance technique using visible through mid-wave infrared bands
- effective radius determined separately using 1.6, 2.1 (baseline), and 3.7 μm bands
- Thin cirrus reflectance in the visible
- uses 1.38 μm band to determine thin cirrus and then estimates cirrus reflectance at visible bands

## Aqua/MODIS Level-1B Image

- R	=	0.65 μm
- G	=	0.56 μm
- B	=	0.47 μm

- January 27, 2003
- 1340 UTC

## Aqua/MODIS Retrieval of Effective Radius(M. D. King, S. Platnick et al. - NASA GSFC)

- Effective Radius (μm)

- January 27, 2003
- 1340 UTC

- 2

- 16

- 30

- 9

- 23

- 6

- 28

- 50

- 17

- 39

- Water Clouds

- Ice Clouds

## MODIS Level-3 Aggregation from 1° x 1° Grid liquid water clouds over Houston

- Terra/MODIS (AM Overpass)

- Aqua/MODIS (PM Overpass)

- 29°-30°N, 95°-96°W
- May 2003

- Cloud Optical Thickness

- 10

- 50

- 40

- 30

- 20

- 15

- 8

- 6

- 4

- 2

- 0

- Cloud Effective Radius (μm)

- 2

- 4

- 6

- 8

- 10

- 12.5

- 15

- 17.5

- 25

- 20

- 30

- Cloud Effective Radius (μm)

## MODIS Level-3 Aggregation from 1° x 1° Grid ice clouds over Houston

- 8

- 10

- 20

- 30

- 40

- 50

- 60

- 15

- 25

- 35

- 45

- 55

- MODIS Level-3 Aggregation from 1° x 1° Grid ice clouds over Houston

- Terra/MODIS (AM Overpass)

- Aqua/MODIS (PM Overpass)

- 29°-30°N, 95°-96°W
- August 2002

- Cloud Optical Thickness

- 10

- 100

- 50

- 30

- 20

- 15

- 5

- 0

- Cloud Effective Radius (μm)

- Cloud Effective Radius (μm)

- 6

- 8

- 10

- 20

- 30

- 40

- 50

- 60

- 15

- 25

- 35

- 45

- 55

## Monthly Mean Cloud Optical Thickness(M. D. King, S. Platnick et al. – NASA GSFC)

- April 2003

## Monthly Mean Cloud Effective Radius(M. D. King, S. Platnick et al. – NASA GSFC)

- Monthly Mean Cloud Effective Radius(M. D. King, S. Platnick et al. – NASA GSFC)

- April 2003

## Landsat & Ikonos Monitoring of Impervious Surfaces(A. Smith – Mid-Atlantic Research Earth Science Applications Center) 

- Landsat & Ikonos Monitoring of Impervious Surfaces(A. Smith – Mid-Atlantic Research Earth Science Applications Center)

- >20%

- 10-20%

- <10%

## Data Availability

- TRMM
- Precipitation rates, browse imagery, instantaneous rainfall, monthly rainfall
- trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov
- Terra & Aqua
- MODIS atmosphere products (descriptions, level-1b and level-3 browse imagery, documentation, contact information, tools for working with data...)
- modis-atmos.gsfc.nasa.gov
- MODIS multiple data page (ordering interface for level-1b, geolocation, atmosphere, and ocean data)
- Terra and Aqua
- MODIS online visualization and analysis system
- MODIS surface albedo, ecosystem, and NDVI filled-in global data sets
- Landsat 4, 5, 7 & ASTER
- Browse imagery, cloud cover, WBS, and shopping cart interface
- glovis.usgs.gov