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Title: NARROWBAND TO BROADBAND CONVERSIONS OF LAND SURFACE ALBEDO: II VALIDATION

Author
item LIANG, S - UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
item SHUEY, C - UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
item Russ, Andrew - Andy
item FANG, H - UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
item CHEN, M - UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
item Walthall, Charles
item Daughtry, Craig

Submitted to: Remote Sensing of Environment
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/31/2002
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: A major uncertainty in our understanding of climate is the effect of reflected solar radiation from different land surface cover types. Reflected solar radiation for climate studies and climate prediction is expressed as albedo, a quantity covering visible (VIS) through short wave infrared (SWIR) wavelengths and all reflectance directions from the surface. Satellite remote sensing is a practical means of mapping land surface albedo globally. However satellite sensors have narrow spectral bands covering VIS, near infrared and SWIR with specific view angles and therefore require conversion formulas to calculate broadband albedo. Procedures for conversion of narrow band albedos to broad band albedos using extensive model simulations were previously developed. Validation of these procedures were conducted using ground measurements. Results show that the conversion procedures are very accurate with very small errors.

Technical Abstract: A major uncertainty in our understanding and modeling of climate is the effect of reflected solar radiation, expressed as albedo, from different land surface cover types. Remote sensing is a practical means of mapping land surface albedo globally. Although broad spectral band albedo is the desired quantity, narrow spectral band albedos are used to estimate broad spectral band albedo from satellite observations. Procedures for conversion of narrow band albedos to broad band albedos using extensive radiative transfer simulations were previously developed. Validation of these procedures were conducted using ground measurements. Results show that the conversion procedures are very accurate with very small errors.