EXAMINATION OF THE TERRAIN EFFECT FOR TERRESTRIAL ALBEDO ESTIMATION VIA BRDF MODEL PARAMETERS

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the effect of terrain on terrestrial albedo estimation. Terrestrial albedo is one of the most important parameters for understanding the global heat balance. The existing approach for estimating terrestrial albedo involves the estimation of model parameters of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) based on measurements obtained at different geometries. Then, narrowband albedos are estimated from the BRDF model parameters and the broadband albedo is finally estimated by narrowband-tobroadband conversion. Previous studies have not considered the terrain effect for generating the terrestrial albedo. Experiments using in situ measurements showed that the BRDF model, which transforms the geocoordinate of the reflectance of the shadowed terrain, generates the best accuracy. The improvement in the accuracy by the terrain effect correction is limited, and therefore further investigations using more in situ and simulated data are necessary for operational products.