Combining the triangle method with thermal inertia to estimate regional evapotranspiration — Applied to MSG-SEVIRI data in the Senegal River basin

Spatially distributed estimates of evaporative fraction and actual evapotranspiration are pursued using a simple remote sensing technique based on a remotely sensed vegetation index (NDVI) and diurnal changes in land surface temperature. The technique, known as the triangle method, is improved by utilizing the high temporal resolution of the geostationary MSG-SEVIRI sensor. With 15 min acquisition intervals, the MSG-SEVIRI data allow for a precise estimation of the morning rise in land surface temperature which is a strong proxy for total daytime sensible heat fluxes. Combining the diurnal change in surface temperature, dT_s with an interpretation of the triangular shaped dT_s − NDVI space allows for a direct estimation of evaporative fraction. The mean daytime energy available for evapotranspiration (R_n − G) is estimated using several remote sensors and limited ancillary data. Finally regional estimates of actual evapotranspiration are made by combining evaporative fraction and available energy estimates. The estimated evaporative fraction (EF) and actual evapotranspiration (ET) for the Senegal River basin have been validated against field observations for the rainy season 2005. The validation results showed low biases and RMSE and R² of 0.13 [−] and 0.63 for EF and RMSE of 41.45 W m^− 2 and R² of 0.66 for ET.     

Improving the spatio-temporal distribution of surface solar radiation data by merging ground and satellite measurements

Appropriate information on solar resources is very important for a variety of technological areas, such as: agriculture, meteorology, forestry engineering, water resources and in particular in the designing and sizing of solar energy systems. However, the availability of observed solar radiation measurements has proven to be spatially and temporally inadequate for many applications. In this paper we propose to merge the global solar radiation measurements from the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium solar measurements network with the operationally derived surface incoming global short-wave radiation products from Meteosat Second Generation satellites imageries to improve the spatio-temporal resolution of the surface global solar radiation data over Belgium. We evaluate several merging methods with various degrees of complexity (from mean field bias correction to geostatistical merging techniques) together with interpolated ground measurements and satellite-derived values only. The performance of the different methods is assessed by leave-one-out cross-validation.     

Improving the SMAC atmospheric correction code by analysis of Meteosat Second Generation NDVI and surface reflectance data

In order to obtain high quality data, the correction of atmospheric perturbations acting upon land surface reflectance measurements recorded by a space-based sensor is an important topic within remote sensing. For many years the Second Simulation of the Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum (6S) radiative transfer model and the Simplified Method for Atmospheric Correction (SMAC) codes have been used for this atmospheric correction, but previous studies have shown that in a number of situations the quality of correction provided by the SMAC is low. This paper describes a method designed to improve the quality of the SMAC atmospheric correction algorithm through a slight increase in its computational complexity. Data gathered from the SEVIRI aboard Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) is used to validate the additions to SMAC, both by comparison to simulated data corrected using the highly accurate 6S method and by comparison to in-situ and 6S corrected SEVIRI data gathered for two field sites in Africa. The additions to the SMAC are found to greatly increase the quality of atmospheric correction performed, as well as broaden the range of atmospheric conditions under which the SMAC can be applied. When examining the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the relative difference between SMAC and in-situ values decreases by 1.5% with the improvements in place. Similarly, the mean relative difference between SMAC and 6S reflectance values decreases by a mean of 13, 14.5 and 8.5% for Channels 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Furthermore, the processing speed of the SMAC is found to remain largely unaffected, with only a small increase in the time taken to process a full SEVIRI scene. Whilst the method described within this paper is only applicable to SEVIRI data, a similar approach can be applied to other data sources than SEVIRI, and should result in a similar accuracy improvement no matter which instrument supplies the original data.     

Integration of geostationary FRP and polar-orbiter burned area datasets for an enhanced biomass burning inventory

Earth Observation (EO) sensors play an important role in quantifying biomass burning related fuel consumption and carbon emissions, and capturing their spatial and temporal dynamics. Typically, biomass burning emissions inventories are developed by exploiting either burned area (BA) or active fire (AF) measures of fire radiative energy (FRE). These approaches have both advantages and limitations. For example, methods based on burned area data typically require hard-to-obtain estimates of fuel load and combustion completeness, and the accuracy of the BA algorithm may deteriorate for small fires or those in densely forested terrain. Conversely, ‘raw’ FRE-based methods are typically low-biassed due to the non-detection of low intensity fires, and are also hindered by cloud cover. Here we develop a methodology integrating these two EO data types to deliver a high temporal resolution emissions inventory, maximising the benefit of each data type without requiring additional information. We focus on Africa, the most fire affected continent, and combine daily FRE observations provided by Meteosat Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) with BA measures delivered by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). For individual fires detected by both types of data, we estimate fuel consumption per unit area (FC_A: g·m^− 2) via the ratio of FRE-derived total fuel consumption (FC_T) to BA. These values are then extrapolated to fires that were mapped using the BA data but which remained undetected in the SEVIRI AF product, thus correcting for the ‘low spatial resolution bias’ inherent in geostationary AF datasets. Calculated daily continental scale FC_T for Africa varies between 0.3 and 20 Tg for the period February 2004-January 2005. We estimate annual continental FC_T to be 1418 Tg, far closer to the 2272 Tg provided by the widely used Global Fire Emissions Database (version 3; GFEDv3) than is obtained when using ‘raw’ FRE data alone. This synergistic approach has substantially narrowed the gap between GFEDv3 and FRE-derived emissions inventories, whilst the geostationary FRP observations offer the advantage that the daily emissions estimates can be distributed more accurately over the diurnal fire cycle if required for linking to atmospheric transport models.     

Land surface temperature retrieval from MSG1-SEVIRI data

We have developed a physical-based split-window Land Surface Temperature (LST) algorithm for retrieving the surface temperature from SEVIRI/MSG1 (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager/Meteosat Second Generation1) data in two thermal infrared bands (IR 10.8 and IR 12.0). The proposed algorithm takes into account the SEVIRI angular dependence. The numerical values of the split-window coefficients have been obtained from a statistical regression method, using synthetic data. The look-up tables for atmospheric transmission, path radiance, and downward thermal irradiance are calculated with the MODTRAN3 code. The new LST algorithm has been tested with simulated SEVIRI/MSG1 data over a wide range of atmospheric and surface conditions. Comprehensive sensitivity and error analyses have been undertaken to evaluate the performance of the proposed LST algorithm and its dependence on surface properties, the ranges of atmospheric conditions and surface temperatures, and on the noise-equivalent temperature difference. The results show that the algorithm is capable of producing LST with a standard deviation lower than 1.5 K for viewing zenith angles lower than 50°. Since MSG1 is becoming fully operational in 2004, the proposed algorithm will allow MSG1 users to obtain surface temperatures immediately.     

PM10 remote sensing from geostationary SEVIRI and polar-orbiting MODIS sensors over the complex terrain of the European Alpine region

The subject of this study is to investigate the capability of spaceborne remote sensing data to predict ground concentrations of PM₁₀ over the European Alpine region using satellite derived Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from the geostationary Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) and the polar-orbiting MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The spatial and temporal resolutions of these aerosol products (10 km and 2 measurements per day for MODIS, ∼ 25 km and observation intervals of 15 min for SEVIRI) permit an evaluation of PM estimation from space at different spatial and temporal scales. Different empirical linear relationships between coincident AOD and PM₁₀ observations are evaluated at 13 ground-based PM measurement sites, with the assumption that aerosols are vertically homogeneously distributed below the planetary Boundary Layer Height (BLH). The BLH and Relative Humidity (RH) variability are assessed, as well as their impact on the parameterization. The BLH has a strong influence on the correlation of daily and hourly time series, whilst RH effects are less clear and smaller in magnitude. Despite its lower spatial resolution and AOD accuracy, SEVIRI shows higher correlations than MODIS (r_SEV∼ 0.7, r_MOD∼ 0.6) with regard to daily averaged PM₁₀. Advantages from MODIS arise only at hourly time scales in mountainous locations but lower correlations were found for both sensors at this time scale (r∼ 0.45). Moreover, the fraction of days in 2008 with at least one satellite observation was 27% for SEVIRI and 17% for MODIS. These results suggest that the frequency of observations plays an important role in PM monitoring, while higher spatial resolution does not generally improve the PM estimation. Ground-based Sun Photometer (SP) measurements are used to validate the satellite-based AOD in the study region and to discuss the impact of aerosols' micro-physical properties in the empirical models. A lower error limit of 30 to 60% in the PM₁₀ assessment from space is estimated in the study area as a result of AOD uncertainties, variability of aerosols properties and the heterogeneity of ground measurement sites. It is concluded that SEVIRI has a similar capacity to map PM as sensors on board polar-orbiting platforms, with the advantage of a higher number of observations. However, the accuracy represents a serious limitation to the applicability of satellites for ground PM mapping, especially in mountainous areas.     

Estimation of diurnal air temperature using MSG SEVIRI data in West Africa

Spatially distributed air temperature data with high temporal resolution are desired for several modeling applications. By exploiting the thermal split window channels in combination with the red and near infrared channels of the geostationary MSG SEVIRI sensor, multiple daily air temperature estimates can be achieved using the contextual temperature-vegetation index method. Air temperature was estimated for 436 image acquisitions during the 2005 rainy season over West Africa and evaluated against in situ data from a field test site in Dahra, Northern Senegal. The methodology was adjusted using data from the test site resulting in RMSE = 2.55 K, MBE = − 0.30 K and R² = 0.63 for the estimated versus observed air temperatures. A spatial validation of the method using 12 synoptic weather stations from Senegal and Mali within the Senegal River basin resulted in overall values of RMSE = 2.96 K, MBE = − 1.11 K and R² = 0.68. The daytime temperature curve is interpolated using a sine function based on the multiple daily air temperature estimates from the SEVIRI data. These estimates (covering the 8:00-20:00 UCT time window) were in good agreement with observed values with RMSE = 2.99 K, MBE = − 0.70 K and R² = 0.64. The temperature-vegetation index method was applied as a moving window technique to produce distributed maps of air temperature with 15 min intervals and 3 km spatial resolution for application in a distributed hydrological model.     

Total water vapor column retrieval from MSG-SEVIRI split window measurements exploiting the daily cycle of land surface temperatures

A physically based algorithm for the retrieval of total water vapor column (TWC) over cloud-free land surfaces proposed by Kleespies and McMillin [Kleespies, J.T., McMillin L.M. (1990). Retrieval of precipitable water from observations in the Split Window over varying surface temperatures. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 29, 851-862.] is evaluated and extended for use in atmospheric correction and surface irradiance calculation schemes. Thermal infrared split window channels at 10.8 and 12.0 μm of the MSG-SEVIRI (Meteosat Second Generation-Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager) instrument are used. The proposed algorithm takes advantage of the improved measurement capabilities of the MSG-SEVIRI instrument with its 15 min temporal resolution and its radiometric accuracy of 0.25 K and 0.37 K in the 10.8 and 12.0 μm channels. The temporal resolution allows exploitation of the daily land surface temperature variation. There is no further need for explicit auxiliary information on air and land surface temperatures, which is difficult to obtain on an operational basis. Updated coefficients for the split window parameterization are derived based on simulations of ‘top-of-atmosphere’ SEVIRI brightness temperatures for the globally representative Thermodynamic Initial Guess Retrieval (TIGR3) set of radiosonde profiles. It turns out that the linear dependency on the transmission ratio in both split window channels as originally proposed by Kleespies & McMillin [Kleespies, J.T., McMillin L.M. (1990). Retrieval of precipitable water from observations in the Split Window over varying surface temperatures. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 29, 851-862.] has to be extended towards a non-linear approach in order to make it applicable to the full range of global atmospheric conditions. Sensitivity studies reveal that the parameterization relies on the availability of input brightness temperatures with a variation larger than approximately 5 K during the daily cycle. The new TWC algorithm was tested with MSG-SEVIRI data for European and African regions for the period March-August 2004 and compared with radiosonde data. The results show that the algorithm is capable of producing TWC values with a mean bias of − 0.2 mm and an RMSE of 6.8 mm. From the total amount of 2583 coincidences for all viewing zenith angles both for winter and summer conditions, 82% were within a ± 5 mm and 94% were within a ± 10 mm difference interval between MSG-based and radiosonde-based TWC. A second comparison to European GPS measurements for the same period from March to August 2004 reveals a bias of − 3.0 mm and an RMSE of 6.0 mm. This result is obtained for 11 UTC GPS measurements which proved to match best the MSG-TWC values. Comparing MSG-TWC to daily cloud-free mean GPS values shows a lower bias of − 2.56 mm and an increased RMSE of 6.6 mm. These findings support the usefulness of the new MSG-based algorithm for surface irradiance calculations and atmospheric correction purposes.     

Operational snow mapping using multitemporal Meteosat SEVIRI imagery

The Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) onboard Meteosat Second Generation is the first geostationary satellite instrument with all visual and infrared channels that are important for snow mapping. In this paper, we present an algorithm for deriving snow cover maps from SEVIRI data that makes use of the unique combination of adequate spectral resolution and very high frequency. The short interval of 15 min between images makes it possible to extend traditional spectral classification with a detection of changes between images. This improves the detection of clouds and cloud shadows in instantaneous images, because these often display more variation in time than the surface. It therefore allows a more accurate mapping of surface snow cover, as is shown by a validation of the results with ground observations and other satellite data. The accurate classification of each single image allows the generation of temporal composite snow maps in near real-time, which is for example of interest for numerical weather prediction models. When compared to many in situ measurements from the winter of 2005/2006, the accuracy of the algorithm is 95%.     

SEVIRI PrePro: A novel software tool for the pre-processing of SEVIRI geostationary orbit EO data products

The Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) is a geostationary orbit multispectral sensor on-board the Meteosat second Generation (MSG) platform, acquiring Earth Observation (EO) data over Earth's land surface from the optical to infrared parts of electromagnetic spectrum every 15 min. From the sensor a series of operational products are also provided to the user's community at no cost via EUMETSAT or LSA SAF portals.Herein, an open access stand-alone software product developed in Java programming language is presented for automating key pre-processing steps to all the SEVIRI operationally distributed products. The software tool, named Seviri PrePro, makes use of present day multi-core processors and is able to process very large datasets in a short time period, making it appropriate as well for use in a High Performance Computing (HPC) environment. The practical usefulness of the toolkit is also demonstrated herein using as a case study the SEVIRI evapotranspiration (ET) product.The development of SEVIRI PrePro is of significant importance to the SEVIRI users' community and is also very timely given that, to our knowledge, no similar software tool is freely distributed at present. Its use is anticipated to make a significant contribution to a large number of practical applications requiring use of SEVIRI data, including but not limited, weather forecasting and global climate monitoring at a range of geographical scales.