The Experts below are selected from a list of 3711 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
David F. Young - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
application of deep convective cloud albedo observation to satellite based study of the terrestrial atmosphere monitoring the stability of spaceborne measurements and assessing absorption anomaly
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2004Co-Authors: Yongxiang Hu, Bruce A Wielicki, Paul W Stackhouse, Ping Yang, David F. YoungAbstract:An objective method is developed to monitor the stability of spaceborne instruments, aimed at distinguishing climate trend from instrument drift in satellite-based climate observation records. This method is based on four-years of Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) broadband observations of deep convective cloud systems with cloud-top temperature lower than 205 K and with large optical depths. The implementation of this method to the CERES instrument stability analysis reveals that the monthly albedo distributions are practically the same for deep convective clouds with CERES measurements acquired from both the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and Terra satellite platforms, indicating that CERES instruments are well calibrated and stable during both missions. Furthermore, with a nonlinear regression neural network narrowband-broadband conversion, this instrument-stability monitoring method can also be applied to narrowband instruments such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). The results show that the drifts associated with both VIRS and MODIS instruments are less than 1% during a four-year period. Since the CERES albedo measurements are highly accurate, the absorptance of these opaque clouds can be reliably estimated. The absorptions of these clouds from observations are around 25%, whereas the absorptions from theory can be as low as 18%, depending on ice cloud microphysics.
-
angular distribution models for top of atmosphere radiative flux estimation from the clouds and the earth s radiant energy system instrument on the tropical rainfall measuring mission satellite part ii validation
Journal of Applied Meteorology, 2003Co-Authors: Norman G Loeb, Bruce A Wielicki, Natividad Manalosmith, Konstantin Loukachine, David F. YoungAbstract:Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) investigates the critical role that clouds and aerosols play in modulating the radiative energy flow within the Earth‐atmosphere system. CERES builds upon the foundation laid by previous missions, such as the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment, to provide highly accurate top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes together with coincident cloud and aerosol properties inferred from high-resolution imager measurements. This paper describes the method used to construct empirical angular distribution models (ADMs) for estimating shortwave, longwave, and window TOA radiative fluxes from CERES radiance measurements on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite. To construct the ADMs, multiangle CERES measurements are combined with coincident high-resolution Visible Infrared Scanner measurements and meteorological parameters from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts data assimilation product. The ADMs are stratified by scene types defined by parameters that have a strong influence on the angular dependence of Earth’s radiation field at the TOA. Examples of how the new CERES ADMs depend upon the imager-based parameters are provided together with comparisons with existing models.
-
rapid calibration of operational and research meteorological satellite imagers part i evaluation of research satellite visible channels as references
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 2002Co-Authors: Louis Nguyen, David F. Young, David R Doelling, Walter F Miller, David P KratzAbstract:Operational meteorological satellites generally lack reliable onboard calibration systems for solar-imaging channels. Current methods for calibrating these channels and for normalizing similar channels on contemporaneous satellite imagers typically rely on a poorly calibrated reference source. To establish a more reliable reference instrument for calibration normalization, this paper examines the use of research satellite imagers that maintain their solar-channel calibrations by using onboard diffuser systems that rely on the sun as an absolute reference. The Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission(TRMM) satellite and the second Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR-2) on the second European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-2) are correlated with matched data from the eighth Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-8), the fifth Geostationary Meteorological satellite(GMS-5), and with each other to examine trends in the solar channels. VIRS data are also correlated with the Terra satellite’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provisional data as a preliminary assessment of their relative calibrations. As an additional check on their long-term stability, the VIRS data are compared to the relevant corresponding broadband shortwave radiances of the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Scanners on TRMM. No statistically significant trend in the calibration of the VIRS 0.65- and 1.64-mm channels could be detected from the comparisons with CERES data taken during 1998 and 2000. The VIRS-to-GOES-8 correlations revealed an annual degradation rate for the GOES-8 visible (0.67 mm) channel of ;7.5% and an initial drop of 16% in the gain from the prelaunch value. The slopes in the GOES-8 visible-channel gain trend lines derived from VIRS data taken after January 1998 and ATSR-2 data taken between October 1995 and December 1999 differed by only 1%‐2% indicating that both reference instruments are highly stable. The mean difference of 3%‐4.8% between the VIRS‐GOES-8 and ATSR-2‐GOES-8 gains is attributed to spectral differences between ATSR-2 and VIRS and to possible biases in the ATSR-2 channel-2 calibration. A degradation rate of 1.3% per year found for the GMS-5 visible channel was confirmed by comparisons with earlier calibrations. The MODIS and VIRS calibrations agreed to within 21% to 3%. Some of the differences between VIRS and the provisional MODIS radiances can be explained by spectral differences between the two instruments. The MODIS measures greater reflectance than VIRS for bright scenes. Although both VIRS and ATSR-2 provide temporally stable calibrations, it is recommended that, at least until MODIS calibrations are finalized, VIRS should be used as a reference source for normalizing operational meteorological satellite imagers because of its broader visible filter.
-
rapid calibration of operational and research meteorological satellite imagers part ii comparison of Infrared channels
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 2002Co-Authors: Louis Nguyen, David F. Young, David R Doelling, Walter F Miller, David P KratzAbstract:To establish a more reliable reference instrument for calibration normalization, this paper examines the differences between the various thermal Infrared imager channels on a set of research and operational satellites. Mean brightness temperatures from the Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite and the second Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR-2) on the second European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-2) are correlated with matched data from the eighth Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-8), the fifth Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS-5), and with each other. VIRS data are also correlated with the Terra satellite’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provisional data as a preliminary assessment of their relative calibrations. As an additional check on their long-term stability, the VIRS data are compared to the broadband longwave radiances of the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Scanners on TRMM. No statistically significant trend in the calibration of any of the three (3.7, 10.8, and 12.0 mm) VIRS thermal channels could be detected from the comparisons with CERES data taken during 1998 and 2000 indicating that the VIRS channels can serve as a reliable reference for intercalibrating satellite imagers. However, a small day‐night difference in the VIRS thermal channels detected at very low temperatures should be taken into account. In general, most of the channels agreed to within less than 60.7 K over a temperature range between 200 and 300 K. Some of the smaller differences can be explained by spectral differences in the channel response functions. A few larger differences were found at 200 K for some of the channels suggesting some basic calibration differences for lower temperatures. A nearly 3-K bias in the ATSR-2 11-mm channel relative to VIRS and GOES-8 was found at the cold end of the temperature range. The intercalibrations described here are being continued on a routine basis.
Norman G Loeb - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
angular distribution models for top of atmosphere radiative flux estimation from the clouds and the earth s radiant energy system instrument on the tropical rainfall measuring mission satellite part ii validation
Journal of Applied Meteorology, 2003Co-Authors: Norman G Loeb, Bruce A Wielicki, Natividad Manalosmith, Konstantin Loukachine, David F. YoungAbstract:Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) investigates the critical role that clouds and aerosols play in modulating the radiative energy flow within the Earth‐atmosphere system. CERES builds upon the foundation laid by previous missions, such as the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment, to provide highly accurate top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes together with coincident cloud and aerosol properties inferred from high-resolution imager measurements. This paper describes the method used to construct empirical angular distribution models (ADMs) for estimating shortwave, longwave, and window TOA radiative fluxes from CERES radiance measurements on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite. To construct the ADMs, multiangle CERES measurements are combined with coincident high-resolution Visible Infrared Scanner measurements and meteorological parameters from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts data assimilation product. The ADMs are stratified by scene types defined by parameters that have a strong influence on the angular dependence of Earth’s radiation field at the TOA. Examples of how the new CERES ADMs depend upon the imager-based parameters are provided together with comparisons with existing models.
-
estimate of top of atmosphere albedo for a molecular atmosphere over ocean using clouds and the earth s radiant energy system measurements
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2002Co-Authors: Seiji Kato, Norman G Loeb, Ken C RutledgeAbstract:[1] The shortwave broadband albedo at the top of a molecular atmosphere over ocean between 40°N and 40°S is estimated using radiance measurements from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument and the Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite. The albedo monotonically increases from 0.059 at a solar zenith angle of 10° to 0.107 at a solar zenith angle of 60°. The estimated uncertainty in the albedo is 3.5 × 10−3 caused by the uncertainty in CERES-derived irradiances, uncertainty in VIRS-derived aerosol optical thicknesses, variations in surface wind speed and variations in ozone and water vapor. The estimated uncertainty is similar in magnitude to the standard deviation of 0.003 that is derived from 72 areas which are divided by 20° latitude by 20° longitude grid boxes. The empirically estimated albedo is compared with the modeled albedo using a radiative transfer model combined with an ocean surface bidirectional reflectivity model. The modeled albedo with standard tropical atmosphere is 0.061 and 0.111 at the solar zenith angles of 10° and 60°, respectively. The empirically estimated albedo can be used to estimate the direct radiative effect of aerosols at the top of the atmosphere over oceans.
-
top of atmosphere direct radiative effect of aerosols over the tropical oceans from the clouds and the earth s radiant energy system ceres satellite instrument
Journal of Climate, 2002Co-Authors: Norman G LoebAbstract:Abstract Nine months of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES)/Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) broadband fluxes combined with the TRMM visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) high-resolution imager measurements are used to estimate the daily average direct radiative effect of aerosols for clear-sky conditions over the tropical oceans. On average, aerosols have a cooling effect over the Tropics of 4.6 ± 1 W m–2. The magnitude is ≈2 W m–2 smaller over the southern tropical oceans than it is over northern tropical oceans. The direct effect derived from CERES is highly correlated with coincident aerosol optical depth (τ) retrievals inferred from 0.63-μm VIRS radiances (correlation coefficient of 0.96). The slope of the regression line is ≈−32 W m–2 τ–1 over the equatorial Pacific Ocean, but changes both regionally and seasonally, depending on the aerosol characteristics. Near sources of biomass burning and desert dust, the aerosol direct effect reaches −25 to −30 W m–2. The direct effect ...
Bruce A Wielicki - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
CERES Single Satellite Footprint, TOA and Surface Fluxes, Clouds (SSF) data in HDF (CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Edition2A)
2019Co-Authors: Bruce A WielickiAbstract:The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single Scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2006-01-01] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].
-
the effect of environmental conditions on tropical deep convective systems observed from the trmm satellite
Journal of Climate, 2006Co-Authors: Bing Lin, Bruce A Wielicki, Patrick Minnis, L H Chambers, Alice FanAbstract:Abstract This study uses measurements of radiation and cloud properties taken between January and August 1998 by three Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) instruments, the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Scanner, the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), and the Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS), to evaluate the variations of tropical deep convective systems (DCSs) with sea surface temperature and precipitation. The authors find that DCS precipitation efficiency increases with SST at a rate of ∼2% K−1. Despite increasing rainfall efficiency, the cloud areal coverage rises with SST at a rate of about 7% K−1 in the warm tropical seas. There, the boundary layer moisture supply for deep convection and the moisture transported to the upper troposphere for cirrus anvil cloud formation increase by ∼6.3% and ∼4.0% K−1, respectively. The changes in cloud formation efficiency, along with the increased transport of moisture available for cloud formation, likely contribute to the large rate of in...
-
application of deep convective cloud albedo observation to satellite based study of the terrestrial atmosphere monitoring the stability of spaceborne measurements and assessing absorption anomaly
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2004Co-Authors: Yongxiang Hu, Bruce A Wielicki, Paul W Stackhouse, Ping Yang, David F. YoungAbstract:An objective method is developed to monitor the stability of spaceborne instruments, aimed at distinguishing climate trend from instrument drift in satellite-based climate observation records. This method is based on four-years of Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) broadband observations of deep convective cloud systems with cloud-top temperature lower than 205 K and with large optical depths. The implementation of this method to the CERES instrument stability analysis reveals that the monthly albedo distributions are practically the same for deep convective clouds with CERES measurements acquired from both the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and Terra satellite platforms, indicating that CERES instruments are well calibrated and stable during both missions. Furthermore, with a nonlinear regression neural network narrowband-broadband conversion, this instrument-stability monitoring method can also be applied to narrowband instruments such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). The results show that the drifts associated with both VIRS and MODIS instruments are less than 1% during a four-year period. Since the CERES albedo measurements are highly accurate, the absorptance of these opaque clouds can be reliably estimated. The absorptions of these clouds from observations are around 25%, whereas the absorptions from theory can be as low as 18%, depending on ice cloud microphysics.
-
angular distribution models for top of atmosphere radiative flux estimation from the clouds and the earth s radiant energy system instrument on the tropical rainfall measuring mission satellite part ii validation
Journal of Applied Meteorology, 2003Co-Authors: Norman G Loeb, Bruce A Wielicki, Natividad Manalosmith, Konstantin Loukachine, David F. YoungAbstract:Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) investigates the critical role that clouds and aerosols play in modulating the radiative energy flow within the Earth‐atmosphere system. CERES builds upon the foundation laid by previous missions, such as the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment, to provide highly accurate top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes together with coincident cloud and aerosol properties inferred from high-resolution imager measurements. This paper describes the method used to construct empirical angular distribution models (ADMs) for estimating shortwave, longwave, and window TOA radiative fluxes from CERES radiance measurements on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite. To construct the ADMs, multiangle CERES measurements are combined with coincident high-resolution Visible Infrared Scanner measurements and meteorological parameters from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts data assimilation product. The ADMs are stratified by scene types defined by parameters that have a strong influence on the angular dependence of Earth’s radiation field at the TOA. Examples of how the new CERES ADMs depend upon the imager-based parameters are provided together with comparisons with existing models.
James T Randerson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
analysis of daily monthly and annual burned area using the fourth generation global fire emissions database gfed4
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2013Co-Authors: L Giglio, James T Randerson, Guido R Van Der WerfAbstract:[1] We describe the fourth generation of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED4) burned area data set, which provides global monthly burned area at 0.25° spatial resolution from mid-1995 through the present and daily burned area for the time series extending back to August 2000. We produced the full data set by combining 500 m MODIS burned area maps with active fire data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) and the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) family of sensors. We found that the global annual area burned for the years 1997 through 2011 varied from 301 to 377Mha, with an average of 348Mha. We assessed the interannual variability and trends in burned area on the basis of a region-specific definition of fire years. With respect to trends, we found a gradual decrease of 1.7Mhayr − 1 ( − 1.4%yr − 1) in Northern Hemisphere Africa since 2000, a gradual increase of 2.3Mhayr − 1 (+1.8%yr − 1) in Southern Hemisphere Africa also since 2000, a slight increase of 0.2Mhayr − 1 (+2.5%yr − 1) in Southeast Asia since 1997, and a rapid decrease of approximately 5.5Mhayr − 1 ( − 10.7%yr − 1) from 2001 through 2011 in Australia, followed by a major upsurge in 2011 that exceeded the annual area burned in at least the previous 14 years. The net trend in global burned area from 2000 to 2012 was a modest decrease of 4.3Mhayr − 1 ( − 1.2%yr − 1). We also performed a spectral analysis of the daily burned area time series and found no vestiges of the 16 day MODIS repeat cycle.
-
Global fire emissions and the contribution of deforestation, savanna, forest, agricultural, and peat fires (1997-2009)
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2010Co-Authors: G. R. Van Der Werf, Yiding Jin, Luisa Giglio, D. C. Morton, G. J. Collatz, Prasad S. Kasibhatla, Meng Mu, James T Randerson, Ruth S Defries, T. T. Van LeeuwenAbstract:New burned area datasets and top-down constraints from atmospheric concentration measurements of pyrogenic gases have decreased the large uncertainty in fire emissions estimates. However, significant gaps remain in our understanding of the contribution of deforestation, savanna, forest, agricultural waste, and peat fires to total global fire emissions. Here we used a revised version of the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford-Approach (CASA) biogeochemical model and improved satellite-derived estimates of area burned, fire activity, and plant productivity to calculate fire emissions for the 19972009 period on a 0.5 spatial resolution with a monthly time step. For November 2000 onwards, estimates were based on burned area, active fire detections, and plant productivity from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. For the partitioning we focused on the MODIS era. We used maps of burned area derived from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) and Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) active fire data prior to MODIS (19972000) and estimates of plant productivity derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) observations during the same period. Average global fire carbon emissions according to this version 3 of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED3) were 2.0 Pg C year1 with significant interannual variability during 19972001 (2.8 Pg C year1 in 1998 and 1.6 Pg C year1 in 2001). Globally, emissions during 20022007 were relatively constant (around 2.1 Pg C year1) before declining in 2008 (1.7 Pg C year1) and 2009 (1.5 Pg C year1) partly due to lower deforestation fire emissions in South America and tropical Asia. On a regional basis, emissions were highly variable during 20022007 (e.g., boreal Asia, South America, and Indonesia), but these regional differences canceled out at a global level. During the MODIS era (20012009), most carbon emissions were from fires in grasslands and savannas (44%) with smaller contributions from tropical deforestation and degradation fires (20%), woodland fires (mostly confined to the tropics, 16%), forest fires (mostly in the extratropics, 15%), agricultural waste burning (3%), and tropical peat fires (3%). The contribution from agricultural waste fires was likely a lower bound because our approach for measuring burned area could not detect all of these relatively small fires. Total carbon emissions were on average 13% lower than in our previous (GFED2) work. For reduced trace gases such as CO and CH4, deforestation, degradation, and peat fires were more important contributors because of higher emissions of reduced trace gases per unit carbon combusted compared to savanna fires. Carbon emissions from tropical deforestation, degradation, and peatland fires were on average 0.5 Pg C year1. The carbon emissions from these fires may not be balanced by regrowth following fire. Our results provide the first global assessment of the contribution of different sources to total global fire emissions for the past decade, and supply the community with an improved 13-year fire emissions time series.
T. T. Van Leeuwen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Global fire emissions and the contribution of deforestation, savanna, forest, agricultural, and peat fires (1997-2009)
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2010Co-Authors: G. R. Van Der Werf, Yiding Jin, Luisa Giglio, D. C. Morton, G. J. Collatz, Prasad S. Kasibhatla, Meng Mu, James T Randerson, Ruth S Defries, T. T. Van LeeuwenAbstract:New burned area datasets and top-down constraints from atmospheric concentration measurements of pyrogenic gases have decreased the large uncertainty in fire emissions estimates. However, significant gaps remain in our understanding of the contribution of deforestation, savanna, forest, agricultural waste, and peat fires to total global fire emissions. Here we used a revised version of the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford-Approach (CASA) biogeochemical model and improved satellite-derived estimates of area burned, fire activity, and plant productivity to calculate fire emissions for the 19972009 period on a 0.5 spatial resolution with a monthly time step. For November 2000 onwards, estimates were based on burned area, active fire detections, and plant productivity from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. For the partitioning we focused on the MODIS era. We used maps of burned area derived from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) and Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) active fire data prior to MODIS (19972000) and estimates of plant productivity derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) observations during the same period. Average global fire carbon emissions according to this version 3 of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED3) were 2.0 Pg C year1 with significant interannual variability during 19972001 (2.8 Pg C year1 in 1998 and 1.6 Pg C year1 in 2001). Globally, emissions during 20022007 were relatively constant (around 2.1 Pg C year1) before declining in 2008 (1.7 Pg C year1) and 2009 (1.5 Pg C year1) partly due to lower deforestation fire emissions in South America and tropical Asia. On a regional basis, emissions were highly variable during 20022007 (e.g., boreal Asia, South America, and Indonesia), but these regional differences canceled out at a global level. During the MODIS era (20012009), most carbon emissions were from fires in grasslands and savannas (44%) with smaller contributions from tropical deforestation and degradation fires (20%), woodland fires (mostly confined to the tropics, 16%), forest fires (mostly in the extratropics, 15%), agricultural waste burning (3%), and tropical peat fires (3%). The contribution from agricultural waste fires was likely a lower bound because our approach for measuring burned area could not detect all of these relatively small fires. Total carbon emissions were on average 13% lower than in our previous (GFED2) work. For reduced trace gases such as CO and CH4, deforestation, degradation, and peat fires were more important contributors because of higher emissions of reduced trace gases per unit carbon combusted compared to savanna fires. Carbon emissions from tropical deforestation, degradation, and peatland fires were on average 0.5 Pg C year1. The carbon emissions from these fires may not be balanced by regrowth following fire. Our results provide the first global assessment of the contribution of different sources to total global fire emissions for the past decade, and supply the community with an improved 13-year fire emissions time series.