Application of FY-3A/MERSI satellite data to drought monitoring in north China

Medium Resolution Spectral Imager (MERSI) on board the new Generation Polar-Orbiting Meteorological Satellite of China (FY-3) has five spectral channels with 250m spatial resolution, which enhances the ability to observe fine surface features and provides a new data source for drought monitoring in large area. Drought status of north China is evaluated using FY-3A/MERSI satellite data with Perpendicular Drought Index (PDI). To validate the performance of PDI in macroscale application, quantitative evaluation of drought conditions and development in Tongliao and Chifeng, two cities located in southeast of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China are carried out by comparing time series drought monitoring results with field observation data. Results show that drought status derived from PDI is highly accordant with field drought observation. Satellite based PDI has significant correlation with 10cm and 20cm depth soil water content. Compared with 10cm depth soil water content, PDI has more stable relationship with 20cm depth soil water content. The drought monitoring application in this study show great potential in future drought monitoring operation using China’s own satellite data.