www.elsevier.com/locate/rse Nighttime polar cloud detection with MODIS

Cloud detection is the first step in studying the role of polar clouds in the global climate system with satellite data. In this paper, the cloud detection algorithm for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) is evaluated with model simulations and satellite data collocated with radar/...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yinghui Liu A, Jeffrey R. Key B, Richard A. Frey A, Steven A. Ackerman A, W. Paul Menzel B
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2004
Subjects:
Polar
Cloud detection
MODIS
Antarctic
Arctic
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.385.6327
http://modis-atmos.gsfc.nasa.gov/_docs/Liu et al. (2004).pdf
Description
Summary:Cloud detection is the first step in studying the role of polar clouds in the global climate system with satellite data. In this paper, the cloud detection algorithm for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) is evaluated with model simulations and satellite data collocated with radar/lidar observations at three Arctic and Antarctic stations. Results show that the current MODIS cloud mask algorithm performs well in polar regions during the day but does not detect more than 40 % of the cloud cover over the validation sights at night. Two new cloud tests utilizing the 7.2 Am water vapor and 14.2 Am carbon dioxide bands, one new clear-sky test using the 7.2 Am band, and changes to the thresholds of several other tests are described. With the new cloud detection procedure, the misidentification of cloud as clear decreases from 44.2 % to 16.3 % at the two Arctic stations, and from 19.8 % to 2.7 % at the Antarctic station.

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