Cross-Comparison of Albedo Products for Glacier Surfaces Derived from Airborne and Satellite (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8) Optical Data
Surface albedo partitions the amount of energy received by glacier surfaces from shortwave fluxes and modulates the energy available for melt processes. The ice-albedo feedback, influenced by the contamination of bare-ice surfaces with light-absorbing impurities, plays a major role in the melting of...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/2/110 |
| _version_ | 1818320892793454592 |
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| author | Kathrin Naegeli Alexander Damm Matthias Huss Hendrik Wulf Michael Schaepman Martin Hoelzle |
| author_facet | Kathrin Naegeli Alexander Damm Matthias Huss Hendrik Wulf Michael Schaepman Martin Hoelzle |
| author_sort | Kathrin Naegeli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Surface albedo partitions the amount of energy received by glacier surfaces from shortwave fluxes and modulates the energy available for melt processes. The ice-albedo feedback, influenced by the contamination of bare-ice surfaces with light-absorbing impurities, plays a major role in the melting of mountain glaciers in a warming climate. However, little is known about the spatial and temporal distribution and variability of bare-ice glacier surface albedo under changing conditions. In this study, we focus on two mountain glaciers located in the western Swiss Alps and perform a cross-comparison of different albedo products. We take advantage of high spectral and spatial resolution (284 bands, 2 m) imaging spectrometer data from the Airborne Prism Experiment (APEX) and investigate the applicability and potential of Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 data to derive broadband albedo products. The performance of shortwave broadband albedo retrievals is tested and we assess the reliability of published narrow-to-broadband conversion algorithms. The resulting albedo products from the three sensors and different algorithms are further cross-compared. Moreover, the impact of the anisotropy correction is analysed depending on different surface types. While degradation of the spectral resolution impacted glacier-wide mean albedo by about 5%, reducing the spatial resolution resulted in changes of less than 1%. However, in any case, coarser spatial resolution was no longer able to represent small-scale variability of albedo on glacier surfaces. We discuss the implications when using Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 to map dynamic glaciological processes and to monitor glacier surface albedo on larger spatial and more frequent temporal scales. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T10:32:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-18de390bc48e4915ac3ed6824406c33c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T10:32:14Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-18de390bc48e4915ac3ed6824406c33c2022-12-21T23:50:50ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922017-01-019211010.3390/rs9020110rs9020110Cross-Comparison of Albedo Products for Glacier Surfaces Derived from Airborne and Satellite (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8) Optical DataKathrin Naegeli0Alexander Damm1Matthias Huss2Hendrik Wulf3Michael Schaepman4Martin Hoelzle5Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, SwitzerlandRemote Sensing Laboratories, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, SwitzerlandRemote Sensing Laboratories, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandRemote Sensing Laboratories, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, SwitzerlandSurface albedo partitions the amount of energy received by glacier surfaces from shortwave fluxes and modulates the energy available for melt processes. The ice-albedo feedback, influenced by the contamination of bare-ice surfaces with light-absorbing impurities, plays a major role in the melting of mountain glaciers in a warming climate. However, little is known about the spatial and temporal distribution and variability of bare-ice glacier surface albedo under changing conditions. In this study, we focus on two mountain glaciers located in the western Swiss Alps and perform a cross-comparison of different albedo products. We take advantage of high spectral and spatial resolution (284 bands, 2 m) imaging spectrometer data from the Airborne Prism Experiment (APEX) and investigate the applicability and potential of Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 data to derive broadband albedo products. The performance of shortwave broadband albedo retrievals is tested and we assess the reliability of published narrow-to-broadband conversion algorithms. The resulting albedo products from the three sensors and different algorithms are further cross-compared. Moreover, the impact of the anisotropy correction is analysed depending on different surface types. While degradation of the spectral resolution impacted glacier-wide mean albedo by about 5%, reducing the spatial resolution resulted in changes of less than 1%. However, in any case, coarser spatial resolution was no longer able to represent small-scale variability of albedo on glacier surfaces. We discuss the implications when using Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 to map dynamic glaciological processes and to monitor glacier surface albedo on larger spatial and more frequent temporal scales.http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/2/110glacierAlbedoLight-absorbing impuritiesAPEXSentinel-2Landsatnarrow-to-broadband |
| spellingShingle | Kathrin Naegeli Alexander Damm Matthias Huss Hendrik Wulf Michael Schaepman Martin Hoelzle Cross-Comparison of Albedo Products for Glacier Surfaces Derived from Airborne and Satellite (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8) Optical Data Remote Sensing glacier Albedo Light-absorbing impurities APEX Sentinel-2 Landsat narrow-to-broadband |
| title | Cross-Comparison of Albedo Products for Glacier Surfaces Derived from Airborne and Satellite (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8) Optical Data |
| title_full | Cross-Comparison of Albedo Products for Glacier Surfaces Derived from Airborne and Satellite (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8) Optical Data |
| title_fullStr | Cross-Comparison of Albedo Products for Glacier Surfaces Derived from Airborne and Satellite (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8) Optical Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cross-Comparison of Albedo Products for Glacier Surfaces Derived from Airborne and Satellite (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8) Optical Data |
| title_short | Cross-Comparison of Albedo Products for Glacier Surfaces Derived from Airborne and Satellite (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8) Optical Data |
| title_sort | cross comparison of albedo products for glacier surfaces derived from airborne and satellite sentinel 2 and landsat 8 optical data |
| topic | glacier Albedo Light-absorbing impurities APEX Sentinel-2 Landsat narrow-to-broadband |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/2/110 |
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