HR: 08:30h
AN: B41E-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Satellite monitoring of land surface phenology using phenoregions
AU: * White, M A
EM: mikew@cc.usu.edu
AF: Utah State Univesity, 5210 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322 United States
AB: Coarse resolution remote sensing offers a promising method with which to monitor biospheric responses, as measured by land surface phenology, to short- to long-term climate change. Unfortunately, many pixel-specific approaches are limited by persistent time series smoothing issues, assumptions about temporal progression of satellite greenness measures, cloud and/or snow cover, and non-climatic influences on trends or shifts in land surface phenology. Here, using a previously developed concept of phenoregions (self-similar groups of pixels likely to be minimally impacted by non-climatic influences) we present two concepts for alternate approaches to land surface phenology monitoring. First, we demonstrate a technique based on the LD50 medical concept with which the temporal progression of greenness metrics of entire phenoregions is monitored with a cumulative distribution function. Second, we present a method to combine a fundamental growing season, as measured by temperature, with a realized growing season, as measured by satellite greenness, again at the phenoregion level: this method allows for coupling of climate and biospheric change. Both approaches capitalize on a large pixel distribution within phenoregions while minimizing processing issues characteristic of single-pixel techniques.
DE: 0480 Remote sensing
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005