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Nominal grid data of geostationary remote sensing satellites are fundamental for generating the subsequent products. It can be obtained by normalized projection models, mainly based on the imaging mode. However, there are only definitions and primary descriptive equations for the normalized geostationary projection (NGP) model in the existing literature, while the corresponding imaging mode and the physical interpretation are missing, thus hindering the understanding of the produced nominal grid dataset as well as the subsequent products based on the grid. This paper first derived the imaging mode for NGP based on the limited literature. In addition, another new imaging mode was introduced and analyzed based on NGP. The corresponding projection model [nonstandard normalized geostationary projection (NNGP)] was proposed, which is entirely consistent with the situation of America’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R) and Chinese Fengyun-4A (FY-4A). Furthermore, this paper proposed a novel nominal projection model for frame imaging, which is consistent with the imaging mode of China’s Gaofen-4. Finally, extensive experiments were designed to comparatively analyze the three nominal grids and demonstrate a detailed difference. By providing a theoretical basis for nominal grid selection, this research is highly significant for the efficient near-real-time production and further applications of geostationary images, as well as the conversion between different datasets resulting from different nominal grid data. In addition, our models are sufficiently tested during the on-orbit running of FY-4A, the first satellite of China’s second-generation three-axis stabilized geostationary meteorological satellite series. The algorithms provide the technical support for the high-precision image navigation and registration and play a significant role in robustly producing the meteorological data with similar quality to those from GOES-R. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaoFen1 is the first high-resolution earth observation satellite built in China, and carries four wide field-of-view (WFV) cameras to achieve large-scale monitoring and mapping. However, the unstable attitude measurement accuracy of the satellite generally imparts low geopositioning accuracy and inconsistent geometric error in overlapping areas of WFV images. A feasible and effective large-scale planar block adjustment (PBA) method is presented that corrects the geometric errors of the vast WFV images integrally, further improving the geometric accuracy of these images. In addition, whether ground control points (GCPs) are needed, and the effect of different numbers of GCPs on PBA accuracy is also investigated. Two key technologies are used in this paper. First, a universal PBA error equation based on the virtual control points is presented to allow PBA with or without GCPs. Second, an adjustment method aided by a digital elevation model is adopted to overcome the weak convergence geometry among WFV images, further ensuring stable estimation of PBA. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified by 664 WFV images covering most of mainland China. The satisfactory experimental results indicate that the method presented herein is reasonable and effective, but that a certain number of GCPs is needed to ensure the accuracy of large-scale PBA results for WFV images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three-dimentional plant canopy architecture is often characterized using the foliage clumping index useful for ecological and land surface modeling. In this paper, an algorithm is developed to retrieve the foliage clumping index with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) parameter product (MCD43A1), which is generated using the RossThick-LiSparse Reciprocal (Ross-Li) model. First, the Ross-Li model is modified to improve the simulation of the reflectance at hotspot using the Polarization and Directionality of Earth Reflectance measurements as benchmarks to determine BRDF parameters. Then, the modified model (Ross-Li-H) is used to simulate the reflectance at hotspot and darkspot, which is used to calculate the normalized difference between hotspot and darkspot (NDHD). With the relationship between clumping index and NDHD simulated by the 4-Scale geometrical model, the clumping index over China's landmass at 500-m resolution is retrieved every 8 days during the period from 2003 to 2008. Finally, The effect of topography on the retrieved clumping index is corrected using a topographic compensation function calculated from the digital elevation model at 90-m resolution. The topographically corrected clumping index values correlate well with field measurements at five sites over China, indicating the feasibility of the algorithm for retrieving the clumping index from the MCD43A1 product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]