Laboratory-based bidirectional reflectance distribution functions (BRDFs) of radiometric tarp samples used in the vicarious calibration of Earth remote sensing satellite instruments are presented in this paper. The results illustrate the BRDF dependence on the orientation of the tarps’ weft and warp threads. The study was performed using the GSFC scatterometer at incident zenith angles of $0°$ , $10°$ , and $30°$ ; scatter zenith angles from $0°$ to $60°$ ; and scatter azimuth angles of $0°$ , $45°$ , $90°$ , $135°$ , and $180°$ . The wavelengths were $485\mathrm{nm}$ , $550\mathrm{nm}$ , $633\mathrm{nm}$ , and $800\mathrm{nm}$ . The tarp’s weft and warp dependence on BRDF is well defined at all measurement geometries and wavelengths. The BRDF difference can be as high as 8% at $0°$ incident angle and 12% at $30°$ incident angle. The fitted BRDF data show a very small discrepancy from the measured ones. New data on the forward and backscatter properties of radiometric tarps are reported. The backward scatter is well pronounced for the white samples. The black sample has well-pronounced forward scatter. The provided BRDF characterization of radiometric tarps is an excellent reference for anyone interested in using tarps for radiometric calibrations. The results are NIST traceable.

© 2008 Optical Society of America

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article level metrics are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

Related Journal Articles

• Frequency comb generation using femtosecond pulses and cross-phase modulation in optical fiber at arbitrary center frequencies (OL)
• Ultrahigh long-term dimensional stability of a sapphire cryogenic optical resonator (OL)
• Mode-Field Diameter of Single-Mode Optical Fiber by Far-Field Scanning (AO)
• Temperature and nonlinearity corrections for a photodiode array spectrometer used in the field (AO)
• Stray light correction for diode-array-based spectrometers using a monochromator (AO)

Related Conference Papers

• A Light Source for the 1S0-3P0 Optical Clock Transition in Ytterbium
• Ultrahigh Dynamic-Range Portable Distance Meter Using an Optical Frequency Comb
• Displacement Metrology Setup with Sub-pm Stability in Air Utilizing a Fs-Comb Based Wavelength Synthesizer
• The Optical Equivalent to a Microwave Frequency Synthesizer
• NIST Optoelectronic Measurements for Fiber Optic Applications