i Detection of Smoke and Dust Aerosols Using Multi-sensor Satellite ...

Reflectance of red band
0.48
0.46
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0.4
0.38
0.36
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0.32
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Figure 6.8: The Pixel profile number of dust of storm MODIS in in the CALIPSO's sensor motion footprint direction
6.3 Undetected Smoke Plume
Reflectivity profile of dust storm at red band
Although MODIS is a good sensor for detection of large scale smoke and dust
aerosols, it is limited to detect small scale aerosol layer due to its moderate spatial
resolution. The Aspen fire, located immediately northeast of Tucson, Arizona (32.4 0 N,
110.7 0 W), started on June 17, 2003. The fire burned over 84,000 acres and destroyed 333
structures. The fire was contained on July 12, 2003. The smoke plume was captured by
both Hyperion and ASTER sensors on July 7, 2003, shown in Figs. 6.9a and 6.9b
respectively. The Hyperion swath width is 7.6 km. The ASTER image covers an area of
41.2 x 47.3 km. However, it is difficult to find the smoke plume in MODIS true color
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Unidentified pixel
Identified pixel
Misidentified pixel