CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS
Measurements > Land >
Vegetation >
Leaf Area Index (LAI)


Measurement Definition*: LAI is the total one-sided area of photosynthetic tissue per unit ground surface area - Physical unit [ % ], Accuracy unit [ % ]

Thematic Links
InstrumentStatus/
Accuracy
Instrument DescriptionMeasurement TechnologyTimeline
EPIC
Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera
Operational
Diurnal measurements of ozone, sulfur dioxide, UV surface radiation, clouds, aerosols and vegetation.n/a
ETM+
Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus
Operational
Measures surface radiance and emittance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.High resolution optical imager
MISR
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer
Operational
Measurements of global surface albedo, aerosol and vegetation properties. Also provides multi-angle bidirectional data (1% angle-to-angle accuracy) for cloud cover and reflectances at the surface and aerosol opacities. Global and local modes.n/a
MODIS
MODerate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
Operational
Data on biological and physical processes on the surface of the Earth and in the lower atmosphere, and on global dynamics. Surface temperatures of land and ocean, chlorophyll fluorescence, land cover measurements, cloud cover (day and night).n/a
MS
Multispectral Imager
Operational
Vegetation and land cover, land cover change.n/a
MSI (Sentinel-2)
Multi-Spectral Instrument (Sentinel-2)
Operational
Optical high spatial resolution imagery over land and coastal areas for GMES operational services.High resolution optical imager
OLCI
Ocean and Land Colour Imager
Operational
Marine and land services.n/a
OLI
Operational Land Imager
Operational
Measures surface radiance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.High resolution optical imager
OLI-2
Operational Land Imager 2
Operational
Measures surface radiance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.High resolution optical imager
SGLI
Second-generation Global Imager
Operational
+/-30 %
Medium resolution multi-spectral imaging of land, ocean and atmosphere. SGLI-VNR is an optical sensor capable of multi-channel nadir observation at wavelengths from near-UV to NIR and forward or backward polarization observation at red and near infrared wavelengths (Push-broom scanning). SGLI-IRS is an optical sensor capable of multi-channel nadir observation at wavelengths from SWIR to TIR wavelengths (Cross-track scanning).n/a
SLIM-6-22
Surrey Linear Imager - 6 channel - 22m resolution
Operational
Visible and NIR imagery in support of disaster management - part of the Disaster Management constellation.High resolution optical imager
VIIRS
Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite
Operational
Global observations of land, ocean, and atmosphere parameters: cloud/weather imagery, sea-surface temperature, ocean colour, land surface vegetation indices.n/a
VSC
Venus Superspectral Camera
Operational
High resolution superspectral images (12 spectral bands) for vegetation and landcover applications.High resolution optical imager
CWFMS
Canadian Wildland Fire Monitoring Sensor
Being developed
Measurements are: Fire Radiative Power (FRP), hotspot locations, rate of spread, burned area mapping. Data products generated: 1) Fire maps, showing location, extent, and timing of forest fire events; 2) Fire characteristics, such as fire line intensity, rate of spread and fuel consumption; 3) Plume dynamics through smoke transport maps and plume heights; 4) Mass of carbon released into atmosphere.n/a
LandIS
Landsat Next Instrument Suite
Proposed
Measures surface radiance, land cover state and change (e.g., vegetation type), and longwave termal infrared surface emittance. Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.High resolution optical imager
HISUI
Hyperspectral Imager Suite
No longer considered
Global energy and resource related applications - Exploration of oil, gas, and metal resources - Environmental assessments of oil/gas fields and mines. Other applications such as environmental monitoring, agriculture, and forestry. Instrument was considered as a part of ALOS-3.High resolution optical imager
* Description adapted from WMO.