Abstract

With radiative transfer simulations it is suggested that stable estimates of the highly anisotropic direct beam spectral albedo of snow surface can be derived reciprocally under a variety of overcast skies. An accuracy of ±0.008 is achieved over a solar zenith angle range of θ₀ ≤ 74° for visible wavelengths and up to θ₀ ≤ 63° at the near-infrared wavelength λ = 862 nm. This new method helps expand the database of snow surface albedo for the polar regions where direct measurement of clear-sky surface albedo is limited to large θ₀’s only. The enhancement will assist in the validation of snow surface albedo models and improve the representation of polar surface albedo in global circulation models.

© 2003 Optical Society of America

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