Paper
16 February 2004 Clear-sky narrowband albedos derived from VIRS and MODIS
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Abstract
The Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) project is using multispectral imagers, the Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on the tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra, operating since spring 2000, and Aqua, operating since summer 2002, to provide cloud and clear-sky properties at various wavelengths. This paper presents the preliminary results of an analysis of the CERES clear-sky reflectances to derive a set top-of-atmosphere clear sky albedo for 0.65, 0.86, 1.6, 2.13 μm, for all major surface types using the combined MODIS and VIRS datasets. The variability of snow albedo with surface type is examined using MODIS data. Snow albedo was found to depend on the vertical structure of the vegetation. At visible wavelengths, it is least for forested areas and greatest for smooth desert and tundra surfaces. At 1.6 and 2.1-μm, the snow albedos are relatively insensitive to the underlying surface because snow decreases the reflectance. Additional analyses using all of the MODIS results will provide albedo models that should be valuable for many remote sensing, simulation and radiation budget studies.
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Sunny Sun-Mack, Patrick Minnis, Yan Chen, and Robert F. Arduini "Clear-sky narrowband albedos derived from VIRS and MODIS", Proc. SPIE 5235, Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere VIII, (16 February 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.511180
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Cited by 7 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
MODIS

Vegetation

Atmospheric modeling

Clouds

Near infrared

Reflectivity

Bidirectional reflectance transmission function

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