The global monitoring of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) using satellite-based observations provides a new way of monitoring the status of terrestrial vegetation photosynthesis on a global scale. Several global SIF products that make use of atmospheric satellite data have been successfully developed in recent decades. The Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Inventory Satellite (TECIS-1), the first Chinese terrestrial ecosystem carbon inventory satellite, which is due to be launched in 2021, will carry an imaging spectrometer specifically designed for SIF monitoring. Here, we use an extensive set of simulated data derived from the MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission 5 (MODTRAN 5) and Soil Canopy Observation Photosynthesis and Energy (SCOPE) models to evaluate and optimize the specifications of the SIF Imaging Spectrometer (SIFIS) onboard TECIS for accurate SIF retrievals. The wide spectral range of 670−780 nm was recommended to obtain the SIF at both the red and far-red bands. The results illustrate that the combination of a spectral resolution (SR) of 0.1 nm and a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 127 performs better than an SR of 0.3 nm and SNR of 322 or an SR of 0.5 nm and SNR of 472 nm. The resulting SIF retrievals have a root-mean-squared (RMS) diff* value of 0.15 mW m−2 sr−1 nm−1 at the far-red band and 0.43 mW m−2 sr−1 nm−1 at the red band. This compares with 0.20 and 0.26 mW m−2 sr−1 nm−1 at the far-red band and 0.62 and 1.30 mW m−2 sr−1 nm−1 at the red band for the other two configurations described above. Given an SR of 0.3 nm, the increase in the SNR can also improve the SIF retrieval at both bands. If the SNR is improved to 450, the RMS diff* will be 0.17 mW m−2 sr−1 nm−1 at the far-red band and 0.47 mW m−2 sr−1 nm−1 at the red band. Therefore, the SIFIS onboard TECIS-1 will provide another set of observations dedicated to monitoring SIF at the global scale, which will benefit investigations of terrestrial vegetation photosynthesis from space.

Point cloud filtering is a crucial step in most airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) applications. Many filtering algorithms have been proposed, but the filtering effect has some limitations in complex environments. To improve the filtering effect in complex terrain, a multilevel adaptive filter (MAF) combining morphological reconstruction and thin plate spline (TPS) interpolation is proposed. The digital elevation model (DEM) generated in each iteration is used as the marker image for morphological reconstruction to extract ground pixels, and an adaptive residual threshold is achieved by using terrain gradient as a compensation. The benchmark dataset provided by the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and another LiDAR dataset in northwestern China were used to evaluate the filtering performance of MAF. For the ISPRS benchmark dataset, MAF obtained the lowest average total error (3.72%) and highest average kappa coefficient (87.16%) compared with eight classic filtering algorithms. For the dataset in northwestern China, the DEM generated from the filtering result of MAF obtained higher accuracy than the filtering result of TerraScan. Overall, the MAF achieved promising results without considering the selection of filtering window, which may enhance the robustness and applicability of the algorithm in different environments.

The use of satellite-borne large-footprint LiDAR (light detection and ranging) systems allows for the acquisition of forest monitoring data. This paper mainly describes the design, use, operating principles, installation and data properties of the new Laser Vegetation Detecting Sensor (LVDS), a LiDAR system designed and developed at the Academy of Forest Inventory and Planning (AFIP) and the Beijing Institute of Telemetry (BIT). Data from LVDS were used to calculate the mean height of forest trees on sample plots using data collected in the Hunan province of China. The results show that the full waveform data obtained by LVDS has the ability to accurately characterize forest height. The mean absolute percentage error of mean forest height per plot in flat areas was 6.8%, with a mean absolute deviation of 0.78 m. The airborne LVDS system provides prototype data sets and a platform for instrument proof-of-concept studies for China’s Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Monitoring (TECM) mission, which is an Earth remote sensing satellite due for launch in 2020. The information produced by LVDS allows for forest structure studies with high accuracy and coverage of large areas.

Abstract. The Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Monitoring satellite will be the first satellite of China with multi-beams laser altimeter and repetition frequency equal to GLAS on the world first laser altimetry satellite ICESat, but smaller diameter than GLAS. This satellite will be a milestone of Chinese satellite laser altimetry from single elevation control application to multi-scene applications, such as the forest height, water level measurement and so on. In this paper, the basic parameters of multi-beams laser altimeter on the terrestrial ecosystem carbon monitoring satellite are introduced and compared with other satellite laser altimeters, especially the GLAS and CALIOP, and the working mode is illustrated, which is equal to the GF-7 satellite but different to ICESat. The laser altimetry data products and data processing flow to the standard product is designed. Moreover, the geometric calibration method without field site for the multi-beams full waveform laser altimeter is proposed, which will be continued and improved from the GF-7 satellite laser altimeter geometric calibration without field by the terrain matching and waveform matching, and the high resolution multi-spectral nadir camera will be calibrated and used as the new footprint image with more high resolution and spectral information. The simulated sample data is introduced and illustrated for better understanding of the satellite laser altimetry data. At last, the application of this satellite laser altimetry data product is prospected, and the standard product SLA03 will be produced and released in the Land Satellite Remote Sensing Application Center.

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