@article{fdi:010064068,
  title = {{A}ssessment of daily {MODIS} snow cover products to monitor snow cover dynamics over the {M}oroccan {A}tlas mountain range},
  author = {{M}archane, {A}. and {J}arlan, {L}ionel and {H}anich, {L}. and {B}oudhar, {A}. and {G}ascoin, {S}. and {T}avernier, {A}drien and {F}ilali, {N}. and {L}e {P}age, {M}. and {H}agolle, {O}. and {B}erjamy, {B}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n semi-arid {M}editerranean areas, the snow in the mountains represents an important source of water supply for many people living downstream. {T}his study assessed the daily {MODIS} fractional snow-covered area ({FSC}) products over seven catchments with a mixed snow-rain hydrological regime, covering the {A}tlas chain in {M}orocco. {F}or this purpose, more than 4760 daily {MODIS} tiles ({MOD}10{A}1 version 5) from {S}eptember 2000 to {J}une 2013 were processed, based on a spatio-temporal filtering algorithm aiming at reducing cloud coverage and the problem of discrimination between snow and cloud. {T}he number of pixels identified as cloudy was reduced by 96% from 22.6% to 0.8%. {I}n situ data from five snow stations were used to investigate the relative accuracy of {MODE} snow products. {T}he overall accuracy is equal to 89% (with a 0.1 m. threshold for snow depth). {T}he timing of the seasonal snow was also correctly detected with 11.4 days and 9.4 days of average errors with almost no bias for onset and ablation dates, respectively. {T}he comparison of the {FSC} products to a series of 15 clear sky {FORMOSAT}-2 images at 8 m resolution in the {R}heraya sub-basin near to {M}arrakech showed a good correlation of the two datasets (r = 0.97) and a reasonable negative bias of -27 km(2). {F}inally, the {FSC} products were analyzed through seasonal indicators including onset and melt-out dates, the {S}now {C}over {D}uration ({SCD}) and the maximum snow cover extent ({SCA}max) at the catchment level: (1) the dynamic of the snow cover area is characterized by a very strong inter-annual signal with a variation coefficient of the {SCA}max reaching 77%; (2) there is no evidence of a statistically significant long-term trend although results have pointed out that the {SCD} increased in {F}ebruary-{M}arch and, to a lesser extent, decreased in {A}pril-{M}ay for the 2000-2013 period. {T}he study concludes that the daily {MODIS} product can be used with reasonable confidence to map snow cover in the {S}outh {M}editerranean area despite difficult detection conditions.},
  keywords = {{S}now ; {MODIS} ; {V}alidation ; {M}editerranean ; {S}emi-arid ; {T}rend ; {MAROC} ; {ZONE} {SEMIARIDE} ; {ZONE} {MEDITERRANEENNE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{R}emote {S}ensing of {E}nvironment},
  volume = {160},
  numero = {},
  pages = {72--86},
  ISSN = {0034-4257},
  year = {2015},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.rse.2015.01.002},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010064068},
}