Using MISR full spatial resolution level 1B2 data to characterize the savannah environment around the Skukuza CSIR research site

The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument has been operating since February 2000, accumulating multiangular and multispectral observations globally and continuously for over 9 years, including over savannah ecosystems. Though much effort has been focused on processing and analyzing global or regional products at a spatial resolution of 1.1km or coarser, relatively little has been done to take advantage of this extensive database to characterize savannah processes at the finer spatial resolution of this sensor (275m). This paper outlines the instrument and standard data products available, and describes some of the tools developed to process and generate land surface products at that higher resolution. Preliminary results are exhibited for a limited number of sites of interest in north-east South Africa, in or near the Kruger National Park. The approach can be applied to any continental location and should prove useful to investigate processes and changes in greater details than hitherto feasible with standard products.