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Fine‐Scale Variability of Observed and Simulated Surface Albedo Over the Southern Great Plains
Author(s) -
Berg Larry K.,
Long Charles N.,
Kassianov Evgueni I.,
Chand Duli,
Tai ShengLun,
Yang Zhao,
Riihimaki Laura D.,
Biraud Sébastien C.,
Tagestad Jerry,
Matthews Alyssa,
Mendoza Albert,
Mei Fan,
Tomlinson Jason,
Fast Jerome D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1029/2019jd030559
Subject(s) - albedo (alchemy) , environmental science , moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer , atmospheric sciences , satellite , climatology , spectroradiometer , bidirectional reflectance distribution function , meteorology , remote sensing , geography , geology , reflectivity , art , physics , optics , performance art , engineering , art history , aerospace engineering
Surface albedo can be highly variable in both space and time. The Department of Energy's Holistic Interactions of Shallow Clouds, Aerosols, and Land‐Ecosystems field study provides a unique opportunity to characterize the variability of surface albedo over the Southern Great Plains of the United States using integrated tower, aircraft, and satellite observations. The primary advantage of the aircraft and satellite observations is the ability to examine the spatial distribution of surface albedo over a large area, while the tower measurements have the ability to examine both diurnal and day‐to‐day variability at a single location. In general, consistency was found between the broadband (BB) albedo measured from the surface, air, and space. There was a small increase from 0.186 to 0.194 in the aircraft BB surface albedo between May and September (about 4% change), while the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer black‐sky BB surface albedo increased from 0.151 to 0.166 over the same period (about 10% change), while the standard deviations in the aircraft and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer BB albedo were similar. The largest seasonal differences in the aircraft BB albedo were found for areas with winter wheat or forest, while areas with pasture or grasses showed a smaller seasonal diversity. The Weather Research and Forecasting model was used to simulate the BB surface albedo. In comparison with the aircraft and satellite observations, the Weather Research and Forecasting‐simulated BB surface albedo had no seasonal change and a much narrower distribution.