Mapping snow cover variations using a MODIS daily cloud-free snow cover product in northeast China

Abstract Cloud contamination is one of the major barriers for wider applications of MODIS snow cover products. This study presents a cloud-removal approach, through multiday backward replacements based on Terra and Aqua daily MODIS snow cover products (MOD10A1 and MYD10A1), to generate a series of daily cloud-free snow cover products for advanced applications (MODMYD_MC). The products are evaluated using in situ snow depth data measured during 2000 to 2010 at 53 weather stations in the Heilongjiang Province, northeast China. The results show that the annual mean cloud covers of MOD10A1, MYD10A1, MODMYD_DC (the daily combination of MOD10A1 and MYD10A1), and MODMYD_MC are 50%, 54%, 35%, and 0%, mean snow covers are 6%, 6%, 10%, and 19%, and their mean agreements of snow cover mapping are 42%, 40%, 51%, and 91%, respectively. The snow-covered days (SCDs) derived from MODMYD_MC are also in good agreement (91%) with those obtained from in situ observations. The MODMYD_MC snow cover images are then used to investigate the detailed variation of snow cover in the XiaoXing’AnLing watershed. The snow-covered area in the watershed has an increasing trend in the recent decade, with the minimum present in the 2002 (hydrologic year) and the maximum present in 2010. The plains with lower elevation show shorter SCD but larger interannual variations than in the mountainous areas. This study indicates that MODMYD_MC can be applied to monitor the spatiotemporal variations of snow cover in northeast China and elsewhere in the world.

[1]  Hongjie Xie,et al.  Evaluation of MODIS snow cover and cloud mask and its application in Northern Xinjiang, China , 2008 .

[2]  N. DiGirolamo,et al.  MODIS snow-cover products , 2002 .

[3]  Damien Sulla-Menashe,et al.  MODIS Collection 5 global land cover: Algorithm refinements and characterization of new datasets , 2010 .

[4]  Dennis P. Lettenmaier,et al.  Evaluation of the snow‐covered area data product from MODIS , 2003 .

[5]  Peng Lu,et al.  Spatiotemporal variations of snow cover in northeast China based on flexible multiday combinations of moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer snow cover products , 2014 .

[6]  Anna Rampini,et al.  A regional snow-line method for estimating snow cover from MODIS during cloud cover , 2010 .

[7]  Hongjie Xie,et al.  A new approach of dynamic monitoring of 5‐day snow cover extent and snow depth based on MODIS and AMSR‐E data from Northern Xinjiang region , 2012 .

[8]  Hongjie Xie,et al.  Development and assessment of combined Terra and Aqua snow cover products in Colorado Plateau, USA and northern Xinjiang, China , 2009 .

[9]  Dorothy K. Hall,et al.  Development and evaluation of a cloud-gap-filled MODIS daily snow-cover product , 2010 .

[10]  Hongjie Xie,et al.  Comparison and validation of MODIS standard and new combination of Terra and Aqua snow cover products in northern Xinjiang, China , 2009 .

[11]  Hongjie Xie,et al.  Toward advanced daily cloud-free snow cover and snow water equivalent products from Terra-Aqua MODIS and Aqua AMSR-E measurements , 2010 .

[12]  Richard Fernandes,et al.  Validation of VEGETATION, MODIS, and GOES + SSM/I snow‐cover products over Canada based on surface snow depth observations , 2003 .

[13]  Zuhal Akyürek,et al.  Using MODIS snow cover maps in modeling snowmelt runoff process in the eastern part of Turkey , 2005 .

[14]  Hongjie Xie,et al.  New methods for studying the spatiotemporal variation of snow cover based on combination products of MODIS Terra and Aqua , 2009 .

[15]  András Bárdossy,et al.  Cloud removal methodology from MODIS snow cover product , 2009 .

[16]  T. Yao,et al.  Evaluation of a cloud-gap-filled MODIS daily snow cover product over the Pacific Northwest USA , 2011 .

[17]  Hongjie Xie,et al.  Toward improved daily snow cover mapping with advanced combination of MODIS and AMSR-E measurements , 2008 .

[18]  Tiangang Liang,et al.  An application of MODIS data to snow cover monitoring in a pastoral area: A case study in Northern Xinjiang, China , 2008 .

[19]  Günter Blöschl,et al.  Spatio‐temporal combination of MODIS images – potential for snow cover mapping , 2008 .

[20]  Thomas H. Painter,et al.  Time-space continuity of daily maps of fractional snow cover and albedo from MODIS , 2008 .

[21]  Hongjie Xie,et al.  Integrated assessment on multi-temporal and multi-sensor combinations for reducing cloud obscuration of MODIS snow cover products of the Pacific Northwest USA , 2010 .

[22]  Lei Xiao.  Accuracy evaluation of MODIS and AMSR-E snow cover products in the Heilongjiang drainage basin , 2011 .

[23]  Keshav Prasad Paudel,et al.  Monitoring snow cover variability in an agropastoral area in the Trans Himalayan region of Nepal using MODIS data with improved cloud removal methodology , 2011 .