Albedo and reflectance anisotropy retrieval from AVHRR operated onboard NOAA and MetOp satellites: Algorithm performance and accuracy assessment for Europe

Albedo climatology for European land surfaces retrieved from AVHRR data (1990–2014) and its spatial and temporal analysis from green‐up to vegetation senescence

“…The retrieval of the AVHRR BRDF data relies on the inversion of the semiempirical Ross‐Thick/Li‐Sparse‐Reciprocal (RTLSR) kernel‐driven model corresponding to the MODIS BRDF/albedo methodology [ Schaaf et al ., , ; Sütterlin et al ., ]. Sequential multiangle, cloud‐free, and atmospherically corrected surface reflectance observations built up over a moving input window of 16 days are employed to calculate the RTLSR BRDF model parameters that describe an estimate of the BRDF shape.…”

“…A detailed description of the AVHRR BRDF and albedo processing scheme, comprehensive quality assessment of the AVHRR BRDF/albedo data, and validation of albedo retrievals is given in Sütterlin et al . []. The AVHRR BRDF and albedo retrievals were found to be of high quality across most of Europe and allow the accurate description of the in situ surface reflectance, with an overall absolute accuracy primarily within 0.05 throughout the complete seasonal cycle (with a minimum bias at the peak of the growing season).…”

“…However, cloud contamination, atmospheric correction, directional‐hemispherical integration, and spectral interpolation (narrowband to broadband conversion) remain main sources of uncertainty in the retrieval of surface albedo from remotely sensed data. Therefore, appropriate preprocessing is essential in order to accurately derive albedo from satellite imagery [ Sütterlin et al ., ]. This applies in particular to imagery from older sensors, such as the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), which holds great potential for the retrieval of long‐term records of surface albedo, but also implies additional uncertainties, concerning, for example, calibration [ Rao , ; Heidinger et al ., ] and orbital drift [ Price , ].…”

“…For the retrieval, an AVHRR‐adapted MODIS BRDF and albedo methodology is employed on AVHRR imagery gathered on board National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Meteorological Operational (MetOp) satellites from 1990 to 2014. The performance of this AVHRR methodology and the quality of the retrievals have been assessed previously, and first validations of a 13 year data set have been conducted [ Sütterlin et al ., ]. This study extends the AVHRR BRDF/albedo data set to 25 years and examines spectral and spatiotemporal patterns across Europe and intraseasonal and interannual variations for different land cover types.…”

Estimation of the Land Surface Albedo Changes in the Broader Mediterranean Area, Based on 12 Years of Satellite Observations

“…Several LSA products have been created and are still being produced, based on satellite-derived data (see e.g., [3,8,9]). Among them, the albedo product of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor, on board NASA's Terra and Aqua platforms, includes parameters (described in Section 2.1) for the computation of LSA on an 8-day temporal scale and a variety of spatial scales, which range from 0.5 kmˆ0.5 km to 5 kmˆ5 km, respectively [10].…”