Comparison between laboratory and airborne BRDF measurements for remote sensing

Abstract

Samples from soil and leaf litter were obtained at a site located in the savanna biome of South Africa (Skukuza; 25.0°S, 31.5°E) and their bidirectional reflectance distribution functions (BRDF) were measured using the out-of-plane scatterometer located in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Diffuser Calibration Facility (DCaF). BRDF was measured using P and S incident polarized light over a range of incident and scatter angles. A monochromator-based broadband light source was used in the ultraviolet (uv) and visible (vis) spectral ranges. The diffuse scattered light was collected using an uv-enhanced silicon photodiode detector with output fed to a computer-controlled lock-in amplifier. Typical measurement uncertainties of the reported laboratory BRDF measurements are found to be less than 1% (k=1). These laboratory results were compared with airborne measurements of BRDF from NASA's Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR) instrument over the same general site where the samples were obtained. This study presents preliminary results of the comparison between these laboratory and airborne BRDF measurements and identifies areas for future laboratory and airborne BRDF measurements. This paper presents initial results in a study to try to understand BRDF measurements from laboratory, airborne, and satellite measurements in an attempt to improve the consistency of remote sensing models.