Estimating terrestrial gross primary productivity with the Envisat Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI)

This paper explores the potential of using the Medium Resolution Medium Spectrometer (MERIS) Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI) for estimating gross primary productivity across a range of vegetation cover types. Correlations between flux tower measures of GPP and corresponding MTCI for years between 2003 and 2007 were established for 30 sites across the Americas. Correlations were seen to range from very strong to weak depending on variation in chlorophyll content exhibited. Moreover, comparison of the performance of the MTCI against the MOD17 GPP product at selected sites indicated that overall, the correlation between flux tower and MOD17 GPP estimates were not as strong as obtained when using the MTCI. These results demonstrate the potential of this approach and should be developed further.