Land adjacency effects on MODIS Aqua top‐of‐atmosphere radiance in the shortwave infrared: Statistical assessment and correction

Satellite measurements of coastal or inland waters near land/water interfaces suffer from land adjacency effects (LAEs), particularly in the short wave infrared (SWIR) wavelengths. Here, a statistical method was developed to quantify the LAEs as the ratio of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) total radiance (Lt, W m−2 µm−1 sr−1) between near-shore pixels and LAE-free offshore pixels (>12 pixels away from land). The calculations were conducted using MODIS Aqua images between 2003 and 2012 over the Madagascar Island, with results showing the dependency of LAEs on different environmental and observational factors. The LAEs decrease dramatically with increasing distance from shoreline, and increase with decreasing aerosol optical thickness at 869 nm (τ869). The nearby land surface albedo also plays a role in modulating the LAEs, but the impact is only prominent under low-aerosol conditions. Based on these observations, a look-up-table (LUT) to formulate a correction scheme was established. Tests of the correction scheme using satellite observations over the Hawaii Islands and using in situ measurements in the Chesapeake Bay show significant improvements in Lt (LAEs much closer to 1 than uncorrected data) and retrieved surface chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a, mg m−3), respectively. Furthermore, the number of Chl-a retrievals within the range of 0 – 64 mg m−3 also increases by >60%. While the ultimate solution of correcting the LAEs for coastal/inland water applications still requires further work, these preliminary results suggest that the method proposed here deserves further tests in other estuaries and lakes.