A directional surface reflectance climatology determined from TROPOMI observations

A directional surface reflectance climatology determined from TROPOMI observations

17 April 2024 | Lieuwe G. Tilstra, Martin de Graaf, Victor J. H. Trees, Pavel Litvinov, Oleg Dubovik, and Piet Stammes
This paper introduces a spectral surface reflectivity climatology based on observations from the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5P satellite. The database provides the directionally dependent Lambertian-equivalent reflectivity (DLER) of the Earth's surface for 21 wavelength bands ranging from 328 to 2314 nm, with a spatial resolution of 0.125° × 0.125°. The anisotropy of surface reflection is described using a third-order parameterization of the viewing angle dependence. The database is validated against heritage LER databases from GOME-1, OMI, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2, showing agreement within specified error margins. The directional surface reflectivity (DLER) is compared with the MODIS surface bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) for selected surface types, demonstrating better performance. The TROPOMi surface DLER database is a significant improvement over previous surface albedo databases and can be used for satellite retrievals from TROPOMi and other polar-orbiting satellite instruments. The algorithm used in this study includes active and statistical cloud filtering, cloud shadow detection, and post-processing corrections to handle issues like cloud contamination and gaps due to polar night. The validation results show good agreement with heritage databases, with some differences related to the actual solar position. The directional dependence of the surface reflectivity is analyzed globally and for specific surface type regions, showing that the TROPOMi DLER has a weaker directional dependence compared to the GOME-2 DLER but still significant. The paper concludes by discussing the improvements and future applications of the TROPOMi surface DLER database.This paper introduces a spectral surface reflectivity climatology based on observations from the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5P satellite. The database provides the directionally dependent Lambertian-equivalent reflectivity (DLER) of the Earth's surface for 21 wavelength bands ranging from 328 to 2314 nm, with a spatial resolution of 0.125° × 0.125°. The anisotropy of surface reflection is described using a third-order parameterization of the viewing angle dependence. The database is validated against heritage LER databases from GOME-1, OMI, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2, showing agreement within specified error margins. The directional surface reflectivity (DLER) is compared with the MODIS surface bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) for selected surface types, demonstrating better performance. The TROPOMi surface DLER database is a significant improvement over previous surface albedo databases and can be used for satellite retrievals from TROPOMi and other polar-orbiting satellite instruments. The algorithm used in this study includes active and statistical cloud filtering, cloud shadow detection, and post-processing corrections to handle issues like cloud contamination and gaps due to polar night. The validation results show good agreement with heritage databases, with some differences related to the actual solar position. The directional dependence of the surface reflectivity is analyzed globally and for specific surface type regions, showing that the TROPOMi DLER has a weaker directional dependence compared to the GOME-2 DLER but still significant. The paper concludes by discussing the improvements and future applications of the TROPOMi surface DLER database.
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