Correction of the BRDF Effects on Sentinel-2 Ocean Images

Abstract

Sentinel-2 (S2) satellite images present directional reflectance effects caused by the configuration of the 12 detectors of the Multispectral Instrument (MSI). These effects are more distinct over water bodies due to water optical properties and they are often described by the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). Kernel based models that simulate the BRDF can lead to their elimination. In this study, the c-factor approach along with the Ross-Li BRDF model are employed in order to calculate the Nadir BRDF Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) for all the pixels of S2 images. NBAR allows prediction of reflectance for nadir observations for all the detectors of the MSI. Results prove the effectiveness of the methodology over ocean scenes.