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LAND SURFACE ALBEDO IS AN ESSENTIAL CLIMATE VARIABLE (ECV) REQUIRED TO INITIALIZE GLOBAL AND REGIONAL SURFACE ENERGY BUDGET MODELS AND ESTIMATE SURFACE RADIATIVE FORCING FROM BOTH SNOW COVERED AND SNOW FREE EARTH SURFACES. ALBEDO IS GOVERNED BY THE LAND SURFACE REFLECTANCE ANISOTROPY (WHICH IS DESCRIBED BY THE BIDIRECTIONAL REFLECTANCE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION OR BRDF). THEREFORE SATELLITE-DERIVED BRDF RETRIEVALS CAPTURE AN INTRINSIC PROPERTY OF THE STRUCTURE AND CONDITION OF THE SURFACE COVER. DAILY VIEW ANGLE CORRECTED NADIR BRDF-ADJUSTED REFLECTANCE (NBAR) VALUES ARE INCREASINGLY BEING USED TO DRIVE LAND COVER AND VEGETATION PHENOLOGY ESTIMATES MONITOR FORESTS RANGE LANDS AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND HEALTH AND ASSESS THE IMPACT OF NATURAL AND MANMADE DISTURBANCES. THUS THE DAILY GLOBAL MODIS BRDF ALBEDO AND NBAR PRODUCTS (ACCOMPANIED BY EXTENSIVE QUALITY AND UNCERTAINTY INFORMATION) HAVE BEEN EMBRACED BY THE GLOBAL AND REGIONAL MODELING AND MONITORING COMMUNITIES NECESSITATING A CONTINUITY OF PRODUCTION INTO THE SUOMI-NPP ERA. WHILE THE ALGORITHM FOR THE DAILY BRDF/ALBEDO/NBAR PRODUCTS RELIES ON CLOUD-FREE MULTI-DATE MULTI-ANGLE SURFACE REFLECTANCE DATA TO ESTABLISH APPROPRIATE GRIDDED PIXEL LEVEL BRDF ESTIMATES A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON THE SINGLE DAY OF INTEREST ENSURES THAT THESE RETRIEVALS ARE ABLE TO CAPTURE RAPID DAILY VARIATIONS IN ALBEDO AND NBAR. THESE DAILY ALBEDO AND NBAR VALUES ARE CURRENTLY PROVIDING IMPROVED MONITORING OF EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS AND RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH VEGETATION GROWTH AND SENESCENCE SNOW FALL AND SNOW MELT RIVERINE AND COASTAL VARIATIONS AND LAND COVER DISTURBANCE. A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS OF THIS PRESENT EFFORT WILL BE ON THE PRODUCTION OF IMPROVED ESTIMATES OF HIGH LATITUDE SNOW AND ICE ALBEDO. ROBUST MEASURES OF UNCERTAINTY EXTENSIVE QUALITY FLAGS AND DETAILED DOCUMENTATION WILL CONTINUE TO BE PRODUCED TO ENSURE LONG TERM SCIENCE QUALITY GLOBAL SUOMI- NPP VIIRS BRDF ALBEDO AND NBAR PRODUCTS.

$533,619FY2020National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA

University Of Mass At Boston

Investigators

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