Abstract
Monitoring of land surface albedo dynamics is important for the understanding of observed climate trends. Recently developed multidecadal surface albedo data products, derived from a series of geostationary satellite data, provide the opportunity to study long term surface albedo dynamics at the regional to global scale. Reliable estimates of temporal trends in surface albedo require carefully calibrated and homogenized long term satellite data records and derived products. The present paper investigates the long term consistency of a new surface albedo product derived from Meteosat First Generation (MFG) geostationary satellites for the time period 1982–2006. The temporal consistency of the data set is characterized. The analysis of the long term homogeneity reveals some discrepancies in the time series related to uncertainties in the characterization of the sensor spectral response of some of the MFG satellites. A method to compensate for uncertainties in the current data product is proposed and evaluated.
Highlights
The Earth’s surface albedo is a key terrestrial variable which is important for the surface energy budget
The importance of surface albedo has been recognized by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and has led to a reprocessing of historical long-term satellite records to provide a consistent multidecadal surface albedo climate record
Long term surface albedo data products that cover multiple decades could only rely on sensors on board of operational weather satellites which were not originally designed to perform climate monitoring
Summary
The Earth’s surface albedo is a key terrestrial variable which is important for the surface energy budget. Knowledge of temporal and spatial dynamics of surface albedo is a key information to investigate the Earth climate and its variability at multiple time scales [1,2,3,4]. The importance of surface albedo has been recognized by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and has led to a reprocessing of historical long-term satellite records to provide a consistent multidecadal surface albedo climate record. Operational surface albedo data is available from the MODIS sensor since 2000 [5]. Long term surface albedo data products that cover multiple decades could only rely on sensors on board of operational weather satellites which were not originally designed to perform climate monitoring.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
