Remotely Sensed Albedo

Albedo is a known and documented phenomenon, defined as the reflectivity of a surface, i.e., the ratio of reflected light energy to incident light energy. It is a dimensionless quantity, used in particular in agro-forestry, urban environment, cryosphere and geology. It is an Essential Climate Variable (ECV), deemed extremely meaningful to compute the earth heat balance. The albedo of natural surfaces varies largely, especially in the visible, with the lowest values found for water bodies and dense vegetation canopies and the highest values for desert and snow. It also changes with the angular distribution and spectral composition of the incident radiation and with the surface moisture. Satellite observations allow consistent measuring of the surface albedo at continental scale over a short period of time. Long-term series of surface albedo are good indicators of climate change, especially over glaciers and polar caps. On the other hand, the albedo of bare soil provides a good diagnostic of their degradation. The reliability of satellite albedo is verified against ground-based radiometers and UAV, which also serves to calibrate the instruments embarked on space-borne observing systems and check the quality of the atmospheric correction.

Albedo is a known and documented phenomenon, defined as the reflectivity of a surface, i.e., the ratio of reflected light energy to incident light energy. It is a dimensionless quantity, used in particular in agro-forestry, urban environment, cryosphere and geology. It is an Essential Climate Variable (ECV), deemed extremely meaningful to compute the earth heat balance. The albedo of natural surfaces varies largely, especially in the visible, with the lowest values found for water bodies and dense vegetation canopies and the highest values for desert and snow. It also changes with the angular distribution and spectral composition of the incident radiation and with the surface moisture. Satellite observations allow consistent measuring of the surface albedo at continental scale over a short period of time. Long-term series of surface albedo are good indicators of climate change, especially over glaciers and polar caps. On the other hand, the albedo of bare soil provides a good diagnostic of their degradation. The reliability of satellite albedo is verified against ground-based radiometers and UAV, which also serves to calibrate the instruments embarked on space-borne observing systems and check the quality of the atmospheric correction.

Written by world renowned scientists, this book provides an excellent overview of a wide array of methods and techniques for the processing and analysis of multitemporal remotely sensed images. These methods and techniques include change detection, multitemporal data fusion, coarse-resolution time series processing, and interferometric SAR multitemporal processing, among others. A broad range of multitemporal datasets are used in their methodology demonstrations and application examples, including multispectral, hyperspectral, SAR and passive microwave data. This book features a variety of application examples covering both land and aquatic environments. Land applications include urban, agriculture, habitat disturbance, vegetation dynamics, soil moisture, land surface albedo, land surface temperature, glacier and disaster recovery. Aquatic applications include monitoring water quality, water surface areas and water fluctuation in wetland areas, spatial distribution patterns and temporal fluctuation trends of global land surface water, as well as evaluation of water quality in several coastal and marine environments. This book will help scientists, practitioners, students gain a greater understanding of how multitemporal remote sensing could be effectively used to monitor our changing planet at local, regional, and global scales.

Comprehensive Remote Sensing covers all aspects of the topic, with each volume edited by well-known scientists and contributed to by frontier researchers. It is a comprehensive resource that will benefit both students and researchers who want to further their understanding in this discipline. The field of remote sensing has quadrupled in size in the past two decades, and increasingly draws in individuals working in a diverse set of disciplines ranging from geographers, oceanographers, and meteorologists, to physicists and computer scientists. Researchers from a variety of backgrounds are now accessing remote sensing data, creating an urgent need for a one-stop reference work that can comprehensively document the development of remote sensing, from the basic principles, modeling and practical algorithms, to various applications. Fully comprehensive coverage of this rapidly growing discipline, giving readers a detailed overview of all aspects of Remote Sensing principles and applications Contains ‘Layered content’, with each article beginning with the basics and then moving on to more complex concepts Ideal for advanced undergraduates and academic researchers Includes case studies that illustrate the practical application of remote sensing principles, further enhancing understanding

Advanced Remote Sensing is an application-based reference that provides a single source of mathematical concepts necessary for remote sensing data gathering and assimilation. It presents state-of-the-art techniques for estimating land surface variables from a variety of data types, including optical sensors such as RADAR and LIDAR. Scientists in a number of different fields including geography, geology, atmospheric science, environmental science, planetary science and ecology will have access to critically-important data extraction techniques and their virtually unlimited applications. While rigorous enough for the most experienced of scientists, the techniques are well designed and integrated, making the book’s content intuitive, clearly presented, and practical in its implementation. Comprehensive overview of various practical methods and algorithms Detailed description of the principles and procedures of the state-of-the-art algorithms Real-world case studies open several chapters More than 500 full-color figures and tables Edited by top remote sensing experts with contributions from authors across the geosciences

Quantitative land remote sensing has recently advanced dramatically, particularly in China. It has been largely driven by vast governmental investment, the availability of a huge amount of Chinese satellite data, geospatial information requirements for addressing pressing environmental issues and other societal benefits. Many individuals have also fostered and made great contributions to its development, and Prof. Xiaowen Li was one of these leading figures. This book is published in memory of Prof. Li. The papers collected in this book cover topics from surface reflectance simulation, inversion algorithm and estimation of variables, to applications in optical, thermal, Lidar and microwave remote sensing. The wide range of variables include directional reflectance, chlorophyll fluorescence, aerosol optical depth, incident solar radiation, albedo, surface temperature, upward longwave radiation, leaf area index, fractional vegetation cover, forest biomass, precipitation, evapotranspiration, freeze/thaw snow cover, vegetation productivity, phenology and biodiversity indicators. They clearly reflect the current level of research in this area. This book constitutes an excellent reference suitable for upper-level undergraduate students, graduate students and professionals in remote sensing.

Advanced Remote Sensing: Terrestrial Information Extraction and Applications, Second Edition, is a thoroughly updated application-based reference that provides a single source on the mathematical concepts necessary for remote sensing data gathering and assimilation. It presents state-of-the-art techniques for estimating land surface variables from a variety of data types, including optical sensors like RADAR and LIDAR. The book provides scientists in a number of different fields, including geography, geophysics, geology, atmospheric science, environmental science, planetary science and ecology with access to critically-important data extraction techniques and their virtually unlimited applications. While rigorous enough for the most experienced of scientists, the techniques presented are well designed and integrated, making the book’s content intuitive and practical in its implementation. Provides a comprehensive overview of many practical methods and algorithms Offers descriptions of the principles and procedures of the state-of-the-art in remote sensing Includes real-world case studies and end-of-chapter exercises Contains thoroughly revised chapters, newly developed applications and updated examples