Development of a Mid-Infrared Sea and Lake Ice Index (MISI) Using the GOES Imager

An automated ice-mapping algorithm has been developed and evaluated using data from the GOES-13 imager. The approach includes cloud-free image compositing as well as image classification using spectral criteria. The algorithm uses an alternative snow index to the Normalized Difference Snow Index (ND...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote Sensing
Main Authors: Peter Dorofy, Rouzbeh Nazari, Peter Romanov and, Jeffrey Key
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2016
Subjects:
Q
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8121015
https://doaj.org/article/759ad8f22a364cd2a429ae505e0e338a
Description
Summary:An automated ice-mapping algorithm has been developed and evaluated using data from the GOES-13 imager. The approach includes cloud-free image compositing as well as image classification using spectral criteria. The algorithm uses an alternative snow index to the Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI). The GOES-13 imager does not have a 1.6 µm band, a requirement for NDSI; however, the newly proposed Mid-Infrared Sea and Lake Ice Index (MISI) incorporates the reflective component of the 3.9 µm or mid-infrared (MIR) band, which the GOES-13 imager does operate. Incorporating MISI into a sea or lake ice mapping algorithm allows for mapping of thin or broken ice with no snow cover (nilas, frazil ice) and thicker ice with snow cover to a degree of confidence that is comparable to other ice mapping products. The proposed index has been applied over the Great Lakes region and qualitatively compared to the Interactive Multi-sensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS), the National Ice Center ice concentration maps and MODIS snow cover products. The application of MISI may open additional possibilities in climate research using historical GOES imagery. Furthermore, MISI may be used in addition to the current NDSI in ice identification to build more robust ice-mapping algorithms for the next generation GOES satellites.