Estimating snow albedo patterns in a Mediterranean site from Landsat TM and ETM+ images

Rafael Pimentel; Javier Herrero; María José Polo

doi:10.1117/12.2029064

16 October 2013 Estimating snow albedo patterns in a Mediterranean site from Landsat TM and ETM+ images

Rafael Pimentel, Javier Herrero, María José Polo

Proceedings Volume 8887, Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology XV; 88870L (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2029064
Event: SPIE Remote Sensing, 2013, Dresden, Germany

Abstract

The albedo of snow affects the shortwave radiative flux at the land-atmosphere interface, so that it therefore plays an important role in the snow mass and energy balance. In semiarid areas, their particular climate conditions enhance the spatiotemporal variability of the snow albedo during the snow cover periods, increasing its difficulty in being measured and monitored. Satellite remote sensing is a powerful tool for measuring snow albedo evolution. Ten years of Landsat-5 and Landsat-7 Thematic Mapper images were analysed to determine a trend in the albedo evolution throughout the year in a Mediterranean site, Sierra Nevada Mountain (Southern Spain). A pattern in snow albedo from all the snow pixel in each Landsat scene was obtained. It ranges from 0.8 in new snow to 0.4 in old dirty snow, with a decreasing rate of 0.003 albedo per day. This trend was validated with 5 specific location, where the snow is more persistent while the pixel remains well-illuminated.

Citation Download Citation

Rafael Pimentel, Javier Herrero, and María José Polo "Estimating snow albedo patterns in a Mediterranean site from Landsat TM and ETM+ images", Proc. SPIE 8887, Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology XV, 88870L (16 October 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2029064

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available