A Priori Land Surface Reflectance Synergized With Multiscale Features Convolution Neural Network for MODIS Imagery Cloud Detection

Abstract

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) images are widely used in land, ocean, and atmospheric monitoring, due to their wide spectral coverage, high temporal resolution, and convenient data acquisition. Accurate cloud detection is critical to the fine processing and application of MODIS images. Owing to spatial resolution limitations and the influence of mixed pixels, most MODIS cloud detection algorithms struggle to effectively recognize of clouds and ground objects. Here, we propose a novel cloud detection method based on land surface reflectance (LSR) and a multiscale feature convolutional neural network to achieve high-precision cloud detection, particularly for thin clouds and clouds over bright surface. A monthly surface reflectance dataset was constructed by MODIS products (MOD09A1) and employed to provide background information for cloud detection. Difference-based samples were obtained using surface reflectance as well MODIS images of different phases based on difference operations. The multiscale feature network (MFCD-Net) using an atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) and a channel and spatial attention module (CSAM) integrated low-level spatial features and high-level semantic information to capture multiscale features and generate a high-precision cloud mask. For cloud detection experiments and quantitative analysis, 61 MODIS images acquired at different times on various underlying surface types were used. Cloud detection results were compared to those of UNet, Deeplabv3+, UNet++, PSPNet, and top of atmosphere-based (MFCD-TOA) methods. The proposed method performed well, with the highest overall accuracy (96.55%), precision (92.13%), and recall (88.90%). It improved cloud detection accuracy in various scenarios, reducing thin cloud omission and bright surface misidentification.

The Evolution of Meteorological Satellite Cloud Detection Methodologies

“…A good coincidence of 87% with the operational cloud mask of IASI L2 was found. A multiscale feature convolutional neural network cloud detection approach has been evaluated in [200]. The method yielded 96.55% accuracy, 92.13% precision and 88.90% recall.…”

Improving Cloud Detection over Bright Underlying Surfaces Using a Novel MBUNet Framework for Remote Sensing Imagery

“…Li et al [5] presented a multi-feature combination (MFC) cloud detection method based on GF-1WFV data, and Sun et al [6] combined dynamic threshold and prior surface reflectance to identify clouds, minimizing the influence of mixed pixels and improving the overall accuracy of cloud recognition [7]. However, due to the complexity of the surface and the diversity of cloud shapes and sizes, threshold-based approaches often lead to over-detection or omission of clouds [8].…”