Abstract
Abstract. The primary goal of this paper is to present a model of snow surface albedo accounting for small-scale surface roughness effects. The model is based on photon recollision probability, and it can be combined with existing bulk volume albedo models, such as Two-streAm Radiative TransfEr in Snow (TARTES). The model is fed with in situ measurements of surface roughness from plate profile and laser scanner data, and it is evaluated by comparing the computed albedos with observations. It provides closer results to empirical values than volume-scattering-based albedo simulations alone. The impact of surface roughness on albedo increases with the progress of the melting season and is larger for larger solar zenith angles. In absolute terms, small-scale surface roughness can decrease the total albedo by up to about 0.1. As regards the bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF), it is found that surface roughness increases backward scattering especially for large solar zenith angle values.
Highlights
The global energy budget is affected by surface albedo, which describes the level of brightness of the surface
The model is based on photon recollision probability, and it can be combined with existing bulk volume albedo models, such as Two-streAm Radiative TransfEr in Snow (TARTES)
Applying measured surface roughness values to the model produced results closer to measured values than only volume scattering simulations made with the TARTES model
Summary
The global energy budget is affected by surface albedo, which describes the level of brightness of the surface. The large areal coverage of seasonal snow, together with the high reflectivity of snow, contributes to the relevance of snow albedo on the global energy budget (Flanner et al, 2011; Mialon et al, 2005). The snow component is important for the liveability of dry and cold areas for both humans and ecosystems by providing a source of meltwater in spring and shelter and insulation in winter. Accurate large-scale monitoring of snow properties over large areas is only feasible in practice using satellite-data-based methods. It is required to obtain a detailed understanding of the reflectivity and scattering properties of snow
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