Spatial Correlation between Land Surface Properties and Cloud Characteristics in Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract The change of surface vegetation also links to the evapotranspiration pattern so that the moisture flux might be affected by the atmospheric stratiform or convective clouds, meant to be important in balancing hydrological cycle and the more analysing is necessary to explain this phenomenon. The aim of this paper to analyze the complex phenomenon that link in spatial correlation of cloud response towards land surface change that ensued from cloud microphysical components. Fourteen years from 2003 to 2016 over Indonesia was applied that issued by Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) level-3 (L3) provides both cloud and land surface products. Cloud microphysical features consist of cloud fraction, cloud top pressure, cloud optical thickness, and cloud effective radius, whereas Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was applied to identify the land surface change. The distribution of spatial correlation and probability distribution function are used as the method to determine each cloud microphysical components response to land surface change. Concerning annual result, desirable connections among correlation between NDVI and cloud parameters is rather widely. Probabilistic approach from statistical analysis in the wet season forms palpably pattern (parabolic pattern) rather than a dry season pattern. Correlation values based on spatial analysis between NDVI anomalies and cloud parameter anomalies have a range of values around -0.8 to 0.8. Throughout Indonesia, every correlation between NDVI anomalies and cloud parameter anomalies has a negative correlation. Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua have a major role to inject negative correlations. This causes this area to be covered with oil palm plantations.