Refining MODIS NIR atmospheric water vapor retrieval algorithm using GPS-derived water vapor data

Abstract

A new algorithm of retrieving atmospheric water vapor from MODIS near-infrared (IR) (NIR) data by using a regression fitting method based on Global Positioning System (GPS)-derived water vapor is developed in this work. The algorithm has been used to retrieve total column water vapor from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellites both Terra and Aqua under cloud-free conditions from solar radiation in the NIR channels. Water vapor data estimated from GPS observations recorded from 2003 to 2017 by the SuomiNet GPS network over the western North America are used as ground truth references. The GPS stations were classified into six subsets based on the surface types adopted from MCD12Q1 IGBP legend. The differences in surface types are considered in the regression fitting procedure, thus different regression functions are trained for different surface types. Thus, the wet bias in the operational MODIS water vapor products has been significantly reduced. Water vapor retrieved from each of the three absorption channels and the weighted water vapor of combined three absorption channels are analyzed. Validation shows that the weighted water vapor performs better than the single-channel results. Compared to the MODIS/Terra water vapor products, the RMSE has been reduced by 50.78% to 2.229 mm using the two-channel ratio transmittance method and has been reduced by 53.06% to 2.126 mm using the three-channel ratio transmittance method. Compared to the MODIS/Aqua water vapor products, the RMSE has been reduced by 45.54% to 2.423 mm using the two-channel ratio transmittance method and has been reduced by 45.34% to 2.432 mm using the three-channel ratio transmittance method.