Areal-Averaged Spectral Surface Albedo in an Atlantic Coastal Area: Estimation from Ground-Based Transmission
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Authors
Kassianov, Evgueni I.
Barnard, James C.
Flynn, Connor J.
Riihimaki, Laura
Berg, Larry K.
Rutan, David A.
Issue Date
2017
Type
Article
Language
Keywords
Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR) , Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations , atmospheric transmission , areal-averaged surface albedo , spectral and seasonal variability , Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Mobile Facility (AMF) , coastal region , Graciosa Island; Azores
Alternative Title
Abstract
Tower-based data combined with high-resolution satellite products have been used to produce surface albedo at various spatial scales over land. Because tower-based albedo data are available at only a few sites, surface albedos using these combined data are spatially limited. Moreover, tower-based albedo data are not representative of highly heterogeneous regions. To produce areal-averaged and spectrally-resolved surface albedo for regions with various degrees of surface heterogeneity, we have developed a transmission-based retrieval and demonstrated its feasibility for relatively homogeneous land surfaces. Here, we demonstrate its feasibility for a highly heterogeneous coastal region. We use the atmospheric transmission measured during a 19-month period (June 2009-December 2010) by a ground-based Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR) at five wavelengths (0.415, 0.5, 0.615, 0.673 and 0.87 mu m) at the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) site located on Graciosa Island. We compare the MFRSR-retrieved areal-averaged surface albedo with albedo derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations, and also a composite-based albedo. We demonstrate that these three methods produce similar spectral signatures of surface albedo however, the MFRSR-retrieved albedo, is higher on average (<= 0.04) than the MODIS-based areal-averaged surface albedo and the largest difference occurs in winter.
Description
Citation
Kassianov, E., Barnard, J., Flynn, C., Riihimaki, L., Berg, L., & Rutan, D. (2017). Areal-Averaged Spectral Surface Albedo in an Atlantic Coastal Area: Estimation from Ground-Based Transmission. Atmosphere, 8(12), 123. doi:10.3390/atmos8070123
Publisher
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
ISSN
2073-4433