A global study of NDVI difference among moderate-resolution satellite sensors

Abstract Moderate-resolution sensors, including AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer), MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and VIIRS (Visible-Infrared Imager-Radiometer Suite), have provided over forty years of global scientific data. In the form of NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), these data greatly benefit environmental studies. However, their usefulness is compromised by sensor differences. This study investigates the global NDVI difference and its spatio-temporal patterns among typical moderate-resolution sensors, as supported by state-of-the-art remote sensing derived products. Our study demonstrates that the atmosphere plays a secondary role to LULC (Land Use/Land Cover) in inter-sensor NDVI differences. With reference to AVHRR/3, AVHRR/1 and 2 exhibit negative NDVI biases for vegetated land cover types. In summer (July), the area of negative bias shifts northward, and the magnitude increases in the Northern Hemisphere. For most LULC types, the bias generally shifts in the negative direction from winter (January) to summer. A linear regression of the NDVI difference versus NDVI shows a close correlation between the slope value and vegetation phenology. Overall, NDVI differences are controlled by LULC type and vegetation phenology. Our study can be used to generate a long-term, consistent NDVI data set from composite MODIS and AVHRR NDVI data. LULC-dependent and temporally variable correction equations are recommended to reduce inter-sensor NDVI differences.

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