Towards an integrated geographic analysis system with remote sensing,GIS and consecutive modelling for snow cover monitoring

The paper discusses the design of an Alpine Snow Cover Analysis System (ASCAS) for monitoring snow cover variations in the Alps. It is shown how data such as snow cover data derived from satellite, climate, hydrologic, and topographic data, are programmed into the system. Possible techniques for analysing snow cover variations and results are presented. Furthermore, the integration of image processing and GIS techniques with applied models on a microcomputer-based system is described.     

基于MODIS数据的我国天山典型区积雪特征研究

准确监测天山地区积雪面积和积雪日数对合理利用水资源及分析区域气候变化有重要意义。MODIS每日积雪产品可以为大面积快速积雪制图与监测提供依据,但因云量较高成为其应用的瓶颈。利用结合MODIS产品的时间与空间信息有效地减少了云对MODIS积雪产品的影响,并利用改进的MODIS积雪数据和DEM分析2002~2009年天山地区积雪面积和积雪日数的变化特征。结果表明:积雪频率总体上随着海拔升高而增大;不同坡向积雪面积差异明显,西北坡积雪覆盖率最高,北坡、西坡和东北坡次之,南坡和东南坡的积雪覆盖率最低;2006~2008年研究区积雪面积出现低值,年内最大积雪面积呈逐年减少的趋势;随着海拔下降,积雪日数逐渐变小,天山南部地区积雪日数仅为40 d以下;积雪日数大的区域年际积雪日数变化相对稳定,积雪日数少于40 d的区域积雪日数的变异系数最大,年际积雪日数变化不稳定。     

A combined high and low spatial resolution approach for mapping snow covered areas in the Atlas mountains

Dynamics of snow in semi‐arid mountains are poorly investigated despite the fact that snow may represent an important source of water for downstream populations especially in the spring and early summer. Data acquired by space‐borne optical sensors (i.e. reflectance and derived snow indices) may be suitable for spatial and temporal monitoring of snow cover. However, due to prevailing terrain and climatic conditions, the use of satellite sensor data to monitor snow dynamics is not trivial over such regions. Snowfall as well as precipitation are characterized by strong space–time variability. Indeed snow can fall and melt within one week. Under such conditions, appropriate monitoring of snow dynamics requires space instruments that provide data with high spatial and high temporal resolutions. In this context we developed a new approach based on the combination of two types of instruments: low spatial and high temporal resolution (Système Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT)‐VEGETATION) and high spatial and low temporal resolution (Landsat Thematic Mapper). This new approach improves the relationship between snow index and snow area. The method is validated against snow maps derived from classification of high spatial resolution data on the Atlas range, in Morocco. It is then applied to a one‐year series of SPOT‐4 VEGETATION images allowing to derive a temporal snow cover profile at 1?km spatial resolution over the entire Atlas. The yearly snow profile obtained is of great interest for hydrological modelling.     

A new approach to satellite-based estimation of precipitation over snow cover

Current satellite-based remote-sensing approaches are largely incapable of estimating precipitation over snow cover. This note reports a proof-of-concept study of a new satellite-based approach to the estimation of precipitation over snow-covered surfaces. The method is based on the principle that precipitation can be inferred from the changes in the snow water equivalent of the snowpack. Using satellite-based snow water equivalent measurements, we derived daily precipitation amounts for the northern hemisphere for three snow-accumulation seasons, and evaluated these against independent reference datasets. The new precipitation estimates captured realistic-looking storm events over largely un-instrumented regions. However, the data are noisy and, on a seasonal scale, the amount of precipitation is believed to be underestimated. Nevertheless, current uncertainty in snow measurements, albeit large (50–100%), is still lower than direct precipitation measurements over snow (100–140%) and therefore this approach is still useful. The method will become more feasible as the quality of remotely sensed snow measurements improves.     

A new water-resistant snow index for the detection and mapping of snow cover on a global scale

An up-to-date spatio-temporal change analysis of global snow cover is essential for better understanding of climate–hydrological interactions. The normalized difference snow index (NDSI) is a widely used algorithm for the detection and estimation of snow cover. However, NDSI cannot discriminate between snow cover and water bodies without use of an external water mask. A stand-alone methodology for robust detection and mapping of global snow cover is presented by avoiding external dependency on the water mask. A new spectral index called water-resistant snow index (WSI) with the capability of exhibiting significant contrast between snow cover and other cover types, including water bodies, was developed. WSI uses the normalized difference between the value and hue obtained by transforming red, green, and blue, (RGB) colour composite images comprising red, green, and near-infrared bands into a hue, saturation, and value (HSV) colour model. The superiority of WSI over NDSI is confirmed by case studies conducted in major snow regions globally. Snow cover was mapped by considering monthly variation in snow cover and availability of satellite data at the global scale. A snow cover map for the year 2013 was produced at the global scale by applying the random walker algorithm in the WSI image supported by the reference data collected from permanent snow-covered and non-snow-covered areas. The resultant snow-cover map was compared to snow cover estimated by existing maps: MODIS Land Cover Type Product (MCD12Q1 v5.1, 2012), Global Land Cover by National Mapping Organizations (GLCNMO v2.0, 2008), and European Space Agency’s GlobCover 2009. A significant variation in snow cover as estimated by different maps was noted, and was was attributed to methodological differences rather than annual variation in snow cover. The resultant map was also validated with reference data, with 89.46% overall accuracy obtained. The WSI proposed in the research is expected to be suitable for seasonal and annual change analysis of global snow cover.     

Quantifying the uncertainty in passive microwave snow water equivalent observations

Passive microwave sensors (PM) onboard satellites have the capability to provide global snow observations which are not affected by cloudiness and night condition (except when precipitating events are occurring). Furthermore, they provide information on snow mass, i.e., snow water equivalent (SWE), which is critically important for hydrological modeling and water resource management. However, the errors associated with the passive microwave measurements of SWE are well known but have not been adequately quantified thus far. Understanding these errors is important for correct interpretation of remotely sensed SWE and successful assimilation of such observations into numerical models.This study uses a novel approach to quantify these errors by taking into account various factors that impact passive microwave responses from snow in various climatic/geographic regions. Among these factors are vegetation cover (particularly forest cover), snow morphology (crystal size), and errors related to brightness temperature calibration. A time-evolving retrieval algorithm that considers the evolution of snow crystals is formulated. An error model is developed based on the standard error estimation theory. This new algorithm and error estimation method is applied to the passive microwave data from Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) during the 1990-1991 snow season to produce annotated error maps for North America. The algorithm has been validated for seven snow seasons (from 1988 to 1995) in taiga, tundra, alpine, prairie, and maritime regions of Canada using in situ SWE data from the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) and satellite passive microwave observations. An ongoing study is applying this methodology to passive microwave measurements from Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR); future study will further refine and extend the analysis globally, and produce an improved SWE dataset of more than 25 years in length by combining SSMR and SSM/I measurements.     

Monitoring snow cover variability in an agropastoral area in the Trans Himalayan region of Nepal using MODIS data with improved cloud removal methodology

Monitoring the extent and pattern of snow cover in the dry, high altitude, Trans Himalayan region (THR) is significant to understand the local and regional impact of ongoing climate change and variability. The freely available Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover images, with 500 m spatial and daily temporal resolution, can provide a basis for regional snow cover mapping, monitoring and hydrological modelling. However, high cloud obscuration remains the main limitation. In this study, we propose a five successive step approach — combining data from the Terra and Aqua satellites; adjacent temporal deduction; spatial filtering based on orthogonal neighbouring pixels; spatial filtering based on a zonal snowline approach; and temporal filtering based on zonal snow cycle — to remove cloud obscuration from MODIS daily snow products. This study also examines the spatial and temporal variability of snow cover in the THR of Nepal in the last decade. Since no ground stations measuring snow data are available in the region, the performance of the proposed methodology is evaluated by comparing the original MODIS snow cover data with least cloud cover against cloud-generated MODIS snow cover data, filled by clouds of another densely cloud-covered product. The analysis indicates that the proposed five-step method is efficient in cloud reduction (with average accuracy of > 91%). The results show very high interannual and intra-seasonal variability of average snow cover, maximum snow extent and snow cover duration over the last decade. The peak snow period has been delayed by about 6.7 days per year and the main agropastoral production areas of the region were found to experience a significant decline in snow cover duration during the last decade.     

Toward improved daily snow cover mapping with advanced combination of MODIS and AMSR-E measurements

Taking three snow seasons from November 1 to March 31 of year 2002 to 2005 in northern Xinjiang, China as an example, this study develops a new daily snow cover product (500 m) through combining MODIS daily snow cover data and AMSR-E daily snow water equivalent (SWE) data. By taking advantage of both high spatial resolution of optical data and cloud transparency of passive microwave data, the new daily snow cover product greatly complements the deficiency of MODIS product when cloud cover is present especially for snow cover product on a daily basis and effectively improves daily snow detection accuracy. In our example, the daily snow agreement of the new product with the in situ measurements at 20 stations is 75.4%, which is much higher than the 33.7% of the MODIS daily product in all weather conditions, even a little higher than the 71% of the MODIS 8-day product (cloud cover of ~ 5%). Our results also indicate that i) AMSR-E daily SWE imagery generally agrees with MOD10A1 data in detecting snow cover, with overall agreement of 93.4% and snow agreement of 96.6% in the study area; ii) AMSR-E daily SWE imagery underestimates the snow covered area (SCA) due to its coarse spatial resolution; iii) The new snow cover product can better and effectively capture daily SCA dynamics during the snow seasons, which plays a significant role in reduction, mitigation, and prevention of snow-caused disasters in pastoral areas.     

Estimating fractional snow cover from MODIS using the normalized difference snow index

Snow-cover information is important for a wide variety of scientific studies, water supply and management applications. The NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provides improved capabilities to observe snow cover from space and has been successfully using a normalized difference snow index (NDSI), along with threshold tests, to provide global, automated binary maps of snow cover. The NDSI is a spectral band ratio that takes advantage of the spectral differences of snow in short-wave infrared and visible MODIS spectral bands to identify snow versus other features in a scene. This study has evaluated whether there is a “signal” in the NDSI that could be used to estimate the fraction of snow within a 500 m MODIS pixel and thereby enhance the use of the NDSI approach in monitoring snow cover. Using Landsat 30-m observations as “ground truth,” the percentage of snow cover was calculated for 500-m cells. Then a regression relationship between 500-m NDSI observations and fractional snow cover was developed over three different snow-covered regions and tested over other areas. The overall results indicate that the relationship between fractional snow cover and NDSI is reasonably robust when applied locally and over large areas like North America. The relationship offers advantages relative to other published fractional snow cover algorithms developed for global-scale use with MODIS. This study indicates that the fraction of snow cover within a MODIS pixel using this approach can be provided with a mean absolute error less than 0.1 over the range from 0.0 to 1.0 in fractional snow cover.     

A blended global snow product using visible,passive microwave and scatterometer satellite data

A joint US Air Force/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) blended global snow product that uses Earth Observation System Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) and Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT or QSCAT) data has been developed. Existing snow products derived from these sensors have been blended into a single, global, daily, user-friendly product by using a newly developed Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA)/NASA Snow Algorithm (ANSA). This initial blended snow product uses minimal modelling to expeditiously yield improved snow products, which include, or will include, snow-cover extent, fractional snow cover, snow water equivalent (SWE), onset of snowmelt and identification of actively melting snow cover. The blended snow products are currently 25-km resolution. These products are validated with data from the lower Great Lakes region of the USA, from Colorado obtained during the Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX), and from Finland. The AMSR-E product is especially useful in detecting snow through clouds; however, passive microwave data miss snow in those regions where the snow cover is thin, along the margins of the continental snowline, and on the lee side of the Rocky Mountains, for instance. In these regions, the MODIS product can map shallow snow cover under cloud-free conditions. The confidence for mapping snow-cover extent is greater with the MODIS product than with the microwave product when cloud-free MODIS observations are available. Therefore, the MODIS product is used as the default for detecting snow cover. The passive microwave product is used as the default only in those areas where MODIS data are not applicable due to the presence of clouds and darkness. The AMSR-E snow product is used in association with the difference between ascending and descending satellite passes or diurnal-amplitude variations (DAV) to detect the onset of melt, and a QSCAT product will be used to map areas of snow that are actively melting.     

Integration of multitemporal/polarization C‐band SAR data sets for land‐cover classification

This paper investigates the potential of multitemporal/polarization C‐band SAR data for land‐cover classification. Multitemporal Radarsat‐1 data with HH polarization and ENVISAT ASAR data with VV polarization acquired in the Yedang plain, Korea are used for the classification of typical five land‐cover classes in an agricultural area. The presented methodologies consist of two analytical stages: one for feature extraction and the other for classification based on the combination of features. Both a traditional SAR signal property analysis‐based approach and principal‐component analysis (PCA) are applied in the feature extraction stage. Special concerns are in the interpretation of each principal component by using principal‐component loading. The tau model applied as a decision‐level fusion methodology can provide a formal framework in which the posteriori probabilities derived from different sensor data can be combined. From the case study results, the combination of PCA‐based features showed improved classification accuracy for both Radarsat‐1 and ENVISAT ASAR data, as compared with the traditional SAR signal property analysis‐based approach. The integration of PCA‐based features based on multiple polarization (i.e. HH from Radarsat‐1, and both VV and VH from ENVISAT ASAR) and different incidence angles contributed to a significant improvement of discrimination capability for dry fields which could not be properly classified by using only Radarsat‐1 or ENVISAT ASAR data, and thus showed the best classification accuracy. The results of this case study indicate that the use of multiple polarization SAR data with a proper feature extraction stage would improve classification accuracy in multitemporal SAR data classification, although further consideration should be given to the polarization and incidence angle dependency of complex land‐cover classes through more experiments.     

2000~2010年吉林省积雪时空变化特征及其与气候的关系

利用Terra卫星提供的2000年10月1日到2010年4月30日每日雪覆盖产品MOD10A1,提取研究区积雪覆盖指数SCI、积雪日数SCD、积雪初日SCOD及积雪终日SCMD遥感信息,结合同期吉林省界内23个地面气象观测站的同期气温和降水资料,分析该区积雪的变化特征与气温和降水的关系。结果表明:① 吉林省大部分地区积雪日数为30~90 d,东部山区积雪持续时间长、积雪初日日期早以及积雪终日日期晚,中西部地区变化情况相反;② 积雪覆盖指数SCI呈波浪式变化,与积雪季气温呈负相关;③ 积雪日数与气温呈反相关、与降水量呈正相关,与积雪季气温、夏季降水量的相关系数分别为-0.7407、0.6875;积雪初日情况相反,与积雪季气温、夏季平均气温为0.743、0.5479;积雪终日与气温呈反相关、与降水量呈正相关,与积雪季气温、夏季降水量为-0.5214、0.4647。积雪指数均对气温的变化更敏感,气温升高导致积雪初日推迟、积雪终日提前,从而使积雪日数减小;积雪季降水量的增加有利于积雪日数增大,而积雪终日的推迟有利于夏季降水量的增加。     

Validation of operational AVHRR subpixel snow retrievals over the European Alps based on ASTER data

Snow is of great economic and social importance for the European Alps. Accurate monitoring of the alpine snow cover is a key component in studying regional climate change as well as in daily weather forecasting and snowmelt run‐off modelling. These applications require snow cover information on a high temporal resolution in near‐real time. For the European Alps, operational snow cover fraction maps are generated on a daily basis using data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) platforms. Snow cover distribution is inherently discontinuous and heterogeneous in this mountainous region. We have therefore implemented a straightforward multiple endmember unmixing approach to estimate fractional snow cover. Subpixel proportions are difficult to validate because similar products are not available and appropriate ground‐based observations do not exist. In this study, we validate AVHRR subpixel snow retrievals using binary classified data sets from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) to establish absolute errors of our operational approach at three test sites. Our analysis indicates that the AVHRR subpixel maps compare well with the aggregated ASTER data, showing an overall correlation of 0.78 and providing subpixel estimates with a mean absolute error of 10.4% fractional snow cover. Discrepancies between AVHRR and ASTER snow fraction maps can be attributed to varying snow conditions, terrain effects and density in forest cover.     

Snow parameter determination by multichannel microwave radiometry

A long-term observational program on the microwave scatter and emission behavior of snow began in 1977 at a high-altitude Alpine test site. The brightness temperatures at 4.9, 10.5, 21, 36, and 94 GHz measured at different incidence and polarization angles during the first season are analyzed with the aid of correlation, factorial, and cluster algorithms. The structure mathematically found within the data is compared with classical parameters of the snow cover. Snow state changed from a high winter state to a late spring state during our measurements. At least three different snow qualities and two grades of moisture for the uppermost 10 cm of the snow layer can clearly be distinguished with a high degree of accuracy. The information content of our measurements does not substantially degrade by reducing our data to data as delivered by the NIMBUS-5 and as expected of the NIMBUS-G satellites. Recommendations for optimum frequencies for the remote sensing of snow are given.     

冰沟流域积雪面积比例与雪水当量关系初探

像元尺度上积雪面积比例与雪水当量的关系是将积雪遥感面积数据引入水文模型的有效手段。以冰沟流域为例,利用合成孔径雷达ENVISAT-ASAR数据反演得到积雪面积、雪水当量信息,分析了500m像元尺度上积雪面积比例与雪水当量的关系。结果表明:1在积雪面积比例未达到全覆盖饱和状态,雪水当量和积雪面积比例呈正相关关系,积雪面积比例控制着雪水当量的最大值,但由于受到地形的影响,关系不显著;2当考虑地形因子影响,即将坡度、坡向、海拔、积雪面积比例与雪水当量进行多元线性回归,回归系数的显著性水平均小于0.05,相关系数(r)达到0.841。因此,在高分辨率地形因子已知的情况下,结合遥感积雪数据,可建立良好的积雪面积比例和雪水当量之间的关系,有利于高分辨率积雪面积比例数据在寒区分布式水文模型中的应用。     

Evaluation of MODIS Snow Products in Southwestern Xinjiang Using the Google Earth Engine

Google Earth Engine(GEE) is a cloud\|based geospatial processing platform that can analyze geospatial data to achieve parallel processing of massive remote sensing data on a global scale,providing support for remote sensing big data and large\|area research.MODIS snow cover mapping is a global snow cover product established using MODIS data and has been widely used in regional and global climate and environmental monitoring.In the GEE,millions of remote sensing images are stored,including MODIS daily snow products MOD10A1 V5 data and Landsat data.Taking the three research areas in southwestern Xinjiang as examples,the Landsat stored by the GEE were selected,and the NDSI was used to extract the snow cover as the true value of the land cover to evaluate the MOD10A1 accuracy.The results show that the average overall accuracy of MOD10A1 in the snow cover season in southwestern Xinjiang during the period from 2000 to 2016 is 82%,the average misjudgment rate is 2.9%,and the average missed rate is 58.8%.The overall accuracy of MOD10A1 can reach 98% under the clear sky conditions.The accuracy of MOD10A1 is effected by the terrain conditions and cloud cover in different regions.Therefore,the GEE can quickly and effectively filter high quality cloudless Landsat images,and evaluate the accuracy of the MOD10A1 in the snow area around the global regions,displaying intuitively the misjudgment and missed areas in the form of online maps.Meanwhile,GEE provides the Landsat simple cloud score function to calculate the regional cloud cover,which makes the influence of cloud cover on the MOD10A1 accuracy assessment more regionally representative.     

Using crowdsourced and weather station data to fill cloud gaps in MODIS snow cover datasets

We present the design, development, and testing of a new software package for generating snow cover maps. Using a custom inverse distance weighting method, we combine volunteer snow reports, cross-country ski track reports and station measurements to fill cloud gaps in the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover product. The method is demonstrated by producing a continuous daily time step snow probability map dataset for the Czech Republic region. For validation, we checked the ability of our method to reconstruct MODIS snow cover under cloud by simulating cloud cover datasets and comparing estimated snow cover to actual MODIS snow cover. The percent correctly classified indicator showed accuracy between 80 and 90% using this method. The software is available as an R package. The output data sets are published on the HydroShare website for download and through a web map service for re-use in third-party applications.     

多源遥感驱动的SRM模型在缺资料地区的研究及应用

以MODIS雪盖、风云静止卫星降水、GLDAS气温等多源数据,作为传统SRM模型的输入参数,构建多源遥感驱动的SRM融雪径流模型,并在缺资料地区——青藏高原的年楚河流域进行融雪过程的径流模拟。研究表明融雪后期的瞬时降雪很大程度上影响了插值后积雪覆盖率的精度,在插值的时候考虑降水和气温,排除瞬时积雪干扰,改进线性插值获得每天的积雪覆盖率,可以提高模型模拟精度;遥感驱动的SRM模型在缺资料地区年楚河适用性较好,Nash-Sutcliffe系数(NSE)达到0.681,体积差(Dv)为-0.17%,均方根误差(RMSE)为9.678,模型模拟的精度较高。研究结果可为高寒地区生态水文模型研究提供重要参考,同时可为SRM模型在其他流域尤其是缺资料地区融雪径流计算中的应用提供有效支撑。     

MODIS和VEGETATION雪盖产品在北疆的验证及比较

雪盖产品的准确性评估对于水文模型中的遥感应用具有重要的意义,利用北疆47个气象站实测雪深资料,并将气象站根据海拔和下垫面进行分类,对我国可使用的3种光学遥感雪盖产品MOD10A1、MOD10A2和VGT-S10雪盖产品进行验证。研究表明,MOD10A1、MOD10A2和VGT-S10雪盖产品识别总体精度分别为91.3%、90.6%和87.9%,3种产品在农田、草地、城镇和建筑用地总体精度更高 |在稀疏灌木林、裸地与稀疏植被识别总体精度较低,特别是在山区,3种产品识别精度均较低,分别为66.3%、75.7%和61.9%。进一步统计3种雪盖产品的错分误差、漏分误差,发现3种产品错分误差都比较小,但在山区站的漏分误差比较严重,分别为32.4%、21.7%和36.3%,3种产品在山区都低估了雪盖面积。3种不同时间分辨率的雪盖产品云影响率分别为61.8%、7.6%和1.8%。最后将MODIS合成与VGT-S10时间分辨率相同的雪盖产品,并对两种产品在积雪积累期和消融期进行相互比较,比较发现MODIS识别精度要优于VGT-S10雪盖产品,3种产品中VGT-S10由于合成天数最多,所以雪盖产品受云的影响最小。     

利用实测资料评估被动微波遥感雪深算法

利用SSM/I微波亮温数据,结合地面站点实测资料,比较Chang算法和Che算法在前苏联、中国及蒙古境内6种不同积雪类型的反演精度,结果表明:被广泛应用于全球雪深反演的Chang算法低估了前苏联境内雪深7.6cm,相对误差为-24.3%,而分别高估中国及蒙古境内雪深9.2cm与11.4cm,相对误差分别为108.8%和180.9%,区域反演效果很差;针对中国境内积雪的Che算法严重低估前苏联境内雪深,整体低估21.3cm,相对误差为-68.6%,RMSE为31.4cm;在中国及蒙古境内反演效果有所改善。6个积雪类型中,植被较单一,地形较平坦的苔原型积雪和草原型积雪雪深的反演效果较好。随着纬度和积雪深度的增加被动微波雪深反演有由高估变为低估的趋势。Che算法反演的雪深大体以40°N为界,以北表现为低估,以南表现为高估,另一方面,整体上该算法在雪深低于6.7cm时表现为低高估,高于6.7cm表现为低估;因此,全球算法应用到局部地区需要进行修正,不同下垫面性质以和气候条件下形成的积雪的被动微波反演应区别对待。