Reconstructing cloudfree NDVI composites using Fourier analysis of time series

This letter describes the Harmonic ANalysis of Time Series (HANTS) algorithm. It performs two tasks: (i) screening and removal of cloud affected observations; and (ii) temporal interpolation of the remaining observations to reconstruct gapless images at a prescribed time. HANTS was applied to 36 AVHRR 10-days-maximum-NDVI composites covering most of Europe. The results show that cloud affected data are recognized successfully and replaced. Up to half the data points were rejected with no consequence for the successful reconstruction of seasonal NDVI profiles.