The two-layered radiative transfer model for snow reflectance and its application to remote sensing of the Antarctic snow surface from space

Year: 2024

Authors: Kokhanovsky A., Brell M., Segl K., Efremenko D., Petkov B., Bianchini G., Stone R., Chabrillat S.

Autors Affiliation: German Res Ctr Geosci GFZ, Helmholtz Ctr Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany; German Aerosp Ctr DLR, Remote Sensing Technol Inst IMF, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany; Inst Polar Sci ISP CNR, Bologna, Italy; Univ G dAnnunzio, Chieti, Italy; Natl Inst Opt INO CNR, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Univ Colorado, Cooperat Inst Res Environm Sci, Boulder, CO 80309 USA; Leibniz Univ Hannover LUH, Inst Earth Syst Sci, Dept Soil Sci, Hannover, Germany.

Abstract: The two-LAyered snow Radiative Transfer (LART) model has been proposed for snow remote sensing applications. It is based on analytical approximations of the radiative transfer theory. The geometrical optics approximation has been used to derive the local snow optical parameters, such as the probability of photon absorption by ice grains and the average cosine of single light scattering in a given direction in a snowpack. The application of the model to the selected area in Antarctica has shown that the technique is capable of retrieving the snow grain size both in the upper and lower snow layers, with grains larger in the lower snow layer as one might expect due to the metamorphism processes. Such a conclusion is confirmed by ground measurements of the vertical snow grain size variability in Antarctica.

Journal/Review: FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Volume: 12      Pages from: 1416597-1  to: 1416597-18

More Information: The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The research was funded by the EnMAP mission science program funded within the German Earth observation program by the DLR Space Agency with resources from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (grant numbers 50EE1923 and 50EE2401). DAS:The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.
KeyWords: cryosphere and climate; radiative transfer; light scattering; snowfall detection; ice crystals; remote sensing
DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1416597

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