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1. Validation of the Cloud_CCI (Cloud Climate Change Initiative) cloud products in the Arctic

   https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2903-2023  

   Vinjamuri, Kameswara S. ; Vountas, Marco ; Lelli, Luca ; Stengel, Martin ; Shupe, Matthew D. ; Ebell, Kerstin ; Burrows, John P. ( January 2023 , Atmospheric Measurement Techniques)

   Abstract. The role of clouds in the Arctic radiation budget is not well understood. Ground-based and airborne measurements provide valuable data to test and improve our understanding. However, the ground-based measurements are intrinsically sparse, and the airborne observations are snapshots in time and space. Passive remote sensing measurements from satellite sensors offer high spatial coverage and an evolving time series, having lengths potentially of decades. However, detecting clouds by passive satellite remote sensing sensors is challenging over the Arctic because of the brightness of snow and ice in the ultraviolet and visible spectral regions and because of the small brightness temperature contrast to the surface. Consequently, the quality of the resulting cloud data products needs to be assessed quantitatively. In this study, we validate the cloud data products retrieved from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) post meridiem (PM) data from the polar-orbiting NOAA-19 satellite and compare them with those derived from the ground-based instruments during the sunlit months. The AVHRR cloud data products by the European Space Agency (ESA) Cloud Climate Change Initiative (Cloud_CCI) project uses the observations in the visible and IR bands to determine cloud properties. The ground-based measurements from four high-latitude sites have been selected for this investigation: Hyytiälä (61.84∘ N, 24.29∘ E), North Slope of Alaska (NSA; 71.32∘ N, 156.61∘ W), Ny-Ålesund (Ny-Å; 78.92∘ N, 11.93∘ E), and Summit (72.59∘ N, 38.42∘ W). The liquid water path (LWP) ground-based data are retrieved from microwave radiometers, while the cloud top height (CTH) has been determined from the integrated lidar–radar measurements. The quality of the satellite products, cloud mask and cloud optical depth (COD), has been assessed using data from NSA, whereas LWP and CTH have been investigated over Hyytiälä, NSA, Ny-Å, and Summit. The Cloud_CCI COD results for liquid water clouds are in better agreement with the NSA radiometer data than those for ice clouds. For liquid water clouds, the Cloud_CCI COD is underestimated roughly by 3 optical depth (OD) units. When ice clouds are included, the underestimation increases to about 5 OD units. The Cloud_CCI LWP is overestimated over Hyytiälä by ≈7 g m−2, over NSA by ≈16 g m−2, and over Ny-Å by ≈24 g m−2. Over Summit, CCI LWP is overestimated for values ≤20 g m−2 and underestimated for values >20 g m−2. Overall the results of the CCI LWP retrievals are within the ground-based instrument uncertainties. To understand the effects of multi-layer clouds on the CTH retrievals, the statistics are compared between the single-layer clouds and all types (single-layer + multi-layer). For CTH retrievals, the Cloud_CCI product overestimates the CTH for single-layer clouds. When the multi-layer clouds are included (i.e., all types), the observed CTH overestimation becomes an underestimation of about 360–420 m. The CTH results over Summit station showed the highest biases compared to the other three sites. To understand the scale-dependent differences between the satellite and ground-based data, the Bland–Altman method is applied. This method does not identify any scale-dependent differences for all the selected cloud parameters except for the retrievals over the Summit station. In summary, the Cloud_CCI cloud data products investigated agree reasonably well with those retrieved from ground-based measurements made at the four high-latitude sites.

    

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2. A machine-learning-based cloud detection and thermodynamic-phase classification algorithm using passive spectral observations

   https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2257-2020  

   Wang, Chenxi ; Platnick, Steven ; Meyer, Kerry ; Zhang, Zhibo ; Zhou, Yaping ( January 2020 , Atmospheric Measurement Techniques)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract. We trained two Random Forest (RF) machine learning models for cloud mask andcloud thermodynamic-phase detection using spectral observations from Visible InfraredImaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)on board Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP). Observations from Cloud-Aerosol Lidarwith Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) were carefully selected toprovide reference labels. The two RF models were trained for all-day anddaytime-only conditions using a 4-year collocated VIIRS and CALIOP dataset from2013 to 2016. Due to the orbit difference, the collocated CALIOP and SNPPVIIRS training samples cover a broad-viewing zenith angle range, which is agreat benefit to overall model performance. The all-day model uses three VIIRSinfrared (IR) bands (8.6, 11, and 12 µm), and the daytime model uses fiveNear-IR (NIR) and Shortwave-IR (SWIR) bands (0.86, 1.24, 1.38, 1.64, and 2.25 µm) together with the three IR bands to detect clear, liquid water, and icecloud pixels. Up to seven surface types, i.e., ocean water, forest, cropland,grassland, snow and ice, barren desert, and shrubland, were consideredseparately to enhance performance for both models. Detection of cloudypixels and thermodynamic phase with the two RF models was compared againstcollocated CALIOP products from 2017. It is shown that, when using a conservativescreening process that excludes the most challenging cloudy pixels forpassive remote sensing, the two RF models have high accuracy rates incomparison to the CALIOP reference for both cloud detection andthermodynamic phase. Other existing SNPP VIIRS and Aqua MODIS cloud mask andphase products are also evaluated, with results showing that the two RFmodels and the MODIS MYD06 optical property phase product are the top threealgorithms with respect to lidar observations during the daytime. During thenighttime, the RF all-day model works best for both cloud detection andphase, particularly for pixels over snow and ice surfaces. The present RFmodels can be extended to other similar passive instruments if trainingsamples can be collected from CALIOP or other lidars. However, the qualityof reference labels and potential sampling issues that may impact modelperformance would need further attention. 

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3. Machine Learning Based Algorithms for Global Dust Aerosol Detection from Satellite Images: Inter-Comparisons and Evaluation

   https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13030456  

   Lee, Jangho ; Shi, Yingxi Rona ; Cai, Changjie ; Ciren, Pubu ; Wang, Jianwu ; Gangopadhyay, Aryya ; Zhang, Zhibo ( February 2021 , Remote Sensing)

   null (Ed.)

   Identifying dust aerosols from passive satellite images is of great interest for many applications. In this study, we developed five different machine-learning (ML) based algorithms, including Logistic Regression, K Nearest Neighbor, Random Forest (RF), Feed Forward Neural Network (FFNN), and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), to identify dust aerosols in the daytime satellite images from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) under cloud-free conditions on a global scale. In order to train the ML algorithms, we collocated the state-of-the-art dust detection product from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) with the VIIRS observations along the CALIOP track. The 16 VIIRS M-band observations with the center wavelength ranging from deep blue to thermal infrared, together with solar-viewing geometries and pixel time and locations, are used as the predictor variables. Four different sets of training input data are constructed based on different combinations of VIIRS pixel and predictor variables. The validation and comparison results based on the collocated CALIOP data indicate that the FFNN method based on all available predictor variables is the best performing one among all methods. It has an averaged dust detection accuracy of about 81%, 89%, and 85% over land, ocean and whole globe, respectively, compared with collocated CALIOP. When applied to off-track VIIRS pixels, the FFNN method retrieves geographical distributions of dust that are in good agreement with on-track results as well as CALIOP statistics. For further evaluation, we compared our results based on the ML algorithms to NOAA’s Aerosol Detection Product (ADP), which is a product that classifies dust, smoke, and ash using physical-based methods. The comparison reveals both similarity and differences. Overall, this study demonstrates the great potential of ML methods for dust detection and proves that these methods can be trained on the CALIOP track and then applied to the whole granule of VIIRS granule. 

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4. From LiDAR Waveforms to Hyper Point Clouds: A Novel Data Product to Characterize Vegetation Structure

   https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10121949  

   Zhou, Tan ; Popescu, Sorin ; Malambo, Lonesome ; Zhao, Kaiguang ; Krause, Keith ( December 2018 , Remote Sensing)

   Full waveform (FW) LiDAR holds great potential for retrieving vegetation structure parameters at a high level of detail, but this prospect is constrained by practical factors such as the lack of available handy processing tools and the technical intricacy of waveform processing. This study introduces a new product named the Hyper Point Cloud (HPC), derived from FW LiDAR data, and explores its potential applications, such as tree crown delineation using the HPC-based intensity and percentile height (PH) surfaces, which shows promise as a solution to the constraints of using FW LiDAR data. The results of the HPC present a new direction for handling FW LiDAR data and offer prospects for studying the mid-story and understory of vegetation with high point density (~182 points/m2). The intensity-derived digital surface model (DSM) generated from the HPC shows that the ground region has higher maximum intensity (MAXI) and mean intensity (MI) than the vegetation region, while having lower total intensity (TI) and number of intensities (NI) at a given grid cell. Our analysis of intensity distribution contours at the individual tree level exhibit similar patterns, indicating that the MAXI and MI decrease from the tree crown center to the tree boundary, while a rising trend is observed for TI and NI. These intensity variable contours provide a theoretical justification for using HPC-based intensity surfaces to segment tree crowns and exploit their potential for extracting tree attributes. The HPC-based intensity surfaces and the HPC-based PH Canopy Height Models (CHM) demonstrate promising tree segmentation results comparable to the LiDAR-derived CHM for estimating tree attributes such as tree locations, crown widths and tree heights. We envision that products such as the HPC and the HPC-based intensity and height surfaces introduced in this study can open new perspectives for the use of FW LiDAR data and alleviate the technical barrier of exploring FW LiDAR data for detailed vegetation structure characterization. 

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5. Thermal infrared dust optical depth and coarse-mode effective diameter over oceans retrieved from collocated MODIS and CALIOP observations

   https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8271-2023  

   Zheng, Jianyu ; Zhang, Zhibo ; Yu, Hongbin ; Garnier, Anne ; Song, Qianqian ; Wang, Chenxi ; Di Biagio, Claudia ; Kok, Jasper F. ; Derimian, Yevgeny ; Ryder, Claire ( January 2023 , Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics)

   Abstract. In this study, we developed a novel algorithm based on the collocatedModerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) thermal infrared (TIR)observations and dust vertical profiles from the Cloud–Aerosol Lidar withOrthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) to simultaneously retrieve dust aerosoloptical depth at 10 µm (DAOD10 µm) and the coarse-mode dusteffective diameter (Deff) over global oceans. The accuracy of theDeff retrieval is assessed by comparing the dust lognormal volumeparticle size distribution (PSD) corresponding to retrieved Deff withthe in situ-measured dust PSDs from the AERosol Properties – Dust(AER-D), Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM-2), and Saharan Aerosol Long-Range Transport and Aerosol–Cloud-InteractionExperiment (SALTRACE) fieldcampaigns through case studies. The new DAOD10 µm retrievals wereevaluated first through comparisons with the collocated DAOD10.6 µmretrieved from the combined Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) and CALIOPobservations from our previous study (Zheng et al., 2022). The pixel-to-pixelcomparison of the two DAOD retrievals indicates a good agreement(R∼0.7) and a significant reduction in (∼50 %) retrieval uncertainties largely thanks to the better constraint ondust size. In a climatological comparison, the seasonal and regional(2∘×5∘) mean DAOD10 µm retrievals basedon our combined MODIS and CALIOP method are in good agreement with the twoindependent Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) productsover three dust transport regions (i.e., North Atlantic (NA; R=0.9),Indian Ocean (IO; R=0.8) and North Pacific (NP; R=0.7)). Using the new retrievals from 2013 to 2017, we performed a climatologicalanalysis of coarse-mode dust Deff over global oceans. We found thatdust Deff over IO and NP is up to 20 % smaller than that over NA.Over NA in summer, we found a ∼50 % reduction in the numberof retrievals with Deff>5 µm from 15 to35∘ W and a stable trend of Deff average at 4.4 µm from35∘ W throughout the Caribbean Sea (90∘ W). Over NP inspring, only ∼5 % of retrieved pixels with Deff>5 µm are found from 150 to 180∘ E, whilethe mean Deff remains stable at 4.0 µm throughout eastern NP. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to retrieve both DAOD andcoarse-mode dust particle size over global oceans for multiple years. Thisretrieval dataset provides insightful information for evaluating dustlongwave radiative effects and coarse-mode dust particle size in models.

    

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