The Multi-sensor Cloud Retrieval Simulator (MCRS) produces a “simulated radiance” product from any high-resolution general circulation model with interactive aerosol as if a specific sensor such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) were viewing a combination of the atmospheric column and land–ocean surface at a specific location. Previously the MCRS code only included co...

Comparisons between in situ measurements of surface chlorophyll-a concentration (CHL) and ocean color remote sensing estimates were conducted during an oceanographic cruise on the Brazilian Southeastern continental shelf and slope, Southwestern South Atlantic. In situ values were based on fluorometry, above-water radiometry and lidar fluorosensor. Three empirical algorithms were used to estimat...

Reed beds of Phragmites australis in the River Amudarya delta near the Aral Sea constitute permanent breeding areas of the Asian Migratory locust, Locusta migratoria migratoria. Every year, thousands of hectares are treated with broad-spectrum insecticides to prevent locust swarms from damaging crops in adjacent areas. To devise efficient locust monitoring and management plans, accurate and upd...

BACKGROUND Remotely-sensed environmental data from earth-orbiting satellites are increasingly used to model the distribution and abundance of both plant and animal species, especially those of economic or conservation importance. Time series of data from the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on-board NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites offer the potential to capture env...

This discussion paper is/has been under review for the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP). Please refer to the corresponding final paper in ACP if available. Abstract Agricultural biomass burning (ABB) in Central and East China occurs every year from occurred mainly in An-hui, Henan, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces. A comprehensive set of aerosol optical 5 depth (AOD) data, produced...

soil moisture is one of the critical parameters in climatic, ecological and hydrological modeling and vegetation growth. soil moisture is important for environmental studies but due to ground-based point measurement of soil moisture is expensive and impractical for watershed measurement, this parameter is not be used widely to simulate and predict models. overall and uniform view on different p...

Giovanni, the NASA Goddard online visualization and analysis tool (http://giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov) allows users explore various atmospheric phenomena without learning remote sensing data formats and downloading voluminous data. Using NASA MODIS (Terra and Aqua) and ESA MERIS (ENVISAT) aerosol data as an example, we demonstrate Giovanni usage for online multi-sensor remote sensing data comparison...

The operational Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation absorbed by vegetation (FPAR) algorithm has been successfully implemented for Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) observations by optimizing a small set of configurable parameters in Look-Up-Tables (LUTs). Our preliminary evaluation showed ...

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) launched the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite including the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on October 28, 2011which has the capability to monitor ocean color properties. Four months after launch, we present an initial assessment of the VIIRS ocean color products including inter-comparisons with satellite and in s...

The impact of anthropogenic activities on coastal waters is a cause of concern because such activities add to the total suspended sediment (TSS) budget of the coastal waters, which have negative impacts on the coastal ecosystem. Satellite remote sensing provides a powerful tool in monitoring TSS concentration at high spatiotemporal resolution, but coastal managers should be mindful that the sat...