[1] The MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) algorithm for determining aerosol characteristics over ocean is performing within expected accuracy. A twomonth data set of MODIS retrievals co-located with observations from the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) ground-based sunphotometer network provides the necessary validation. Spectral radiation measured by MODIS (in the range 5...

This paper reports on the processing of time series of MODIS NDVI/EVI and LST satellite data in a Geographical Information System (GIS). The required data preparations for the integration of MODIS data in GIS is described with focus on the reprojection from MODIS/Sinusoidal projection to national coordinate systems. To remove low quality pixels, the MODIS quality maps are utilized. We explain s...

Net primary production (NPP) is an important ecological metric for studying forest ecosystems and their carbon sequestration, for assessing the potential supply of food or timber and quantifying the impacts of climate change on ecosystems. The global MODIS NPP dataset using the MOD17 algorithm provides valuable information for monitoring NPP at 1-km resolution. Since coarse-resolution global cl...

The MODIS instrument provides major advances in moderate resolution earth observation. Improved spatial resolution for land observation at 250 and 500 m and improved spectral band placement provide new remote sensing opportunities. NASA has invested in the development of improved algorithms for MODIS, which will provide new data sets for global change research. Surface reflectance is one of the...

We evaluated the initial 12 months of vegetation index product availability from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Earth Observing System-Terra platform. Two MODIS vegetation indices (VI), the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and enhanced vegetation index (EVI), are produced at 1-km and 500-m resolutions and 16-day compositing periods. This pape...

In this paper, we propose a framework to detect human activities by constructing super-resolution images from the MODIS data. The highest resolution of the MODIS images is 250 meters per pixel, which is usually not enough to detect human activities. By magnifying and de-blurring the low resolution MODIS image through the SupportVector Regression, the constructed super-resolution image can achie...

The volcanological community has a powerful new tool in the spaceborne moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), which, from its synoptic perspective, provides satellite imagery of every volcano on Earth every 2 days. MODIS has the spectral characteristics to be able to utilise previously developed retrievals that quantify volcanic ash, ice, sulfates and sulfur dioxide using their ...

Snow cover plays a crucial role in surface hydrology and energy balance, especially in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). This study used 12 years (2000–2011) of ground-observed snow depth at 87 meteorological stations to assess and verify the accuracy of the daily cloud-free snow-cover product from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) over the QTP. On average, the daily cl...

The 14-channel Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS) was operated on a Jetstream 31 (J31) aircraft in March 2006 during MILAGRO/INTEX-B (Megacity Initiative-Local And Global Research Observations/Phase B of the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment). We compare AATS retrievals of spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) and related aerosol properties with corresponding spatially coin...

The MODIS Rapid Response (RR) System was developed to meet the near real time needs of the applications community. Generally, its products are available online within hours of the satellite overpass. We recently adapted the standard MODIS land surface temperature (LST) splitwindow algorithm for use in the RR System. To minimize latency, we eliminated the algorithm's dependency on upstream MODIS...