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Since realising the idea that a man-made object can be intentionally placed into the Earth’s orbit, almost 10,000 satellites have been launched for multiple scientific, commercial and military purposes. These activities produce a huge amount of junk comprised not only of defunct artificial objects that no longer serve a useful purpose, but various collisions, explosions and leaks have produced millions of pieces of objects of size varying from micrometers to meters. Space debris pose a threat to sustainable space and to the near-earth environment at large. As a result, there is a need for the removal of such objects in a controlled and well-planned manner, or at least safeguarding the most precious satellites from collisions. Among the proposed techniques to avoid collisions, the orbital laser momentum transfer method has good potential for altering the orbits of high area-to-mass-ratio objects ( A / m ≳ 1 m 2 / kg , typically a few cm in size), that are too numerous for capturing techniques. The method is based on the idea of illuminating the target with a laser that induces radiation force. Here we show that the control of the debris can be further improved by using the polarisation of the laser beam. Certain amount of debris objects, maybe around 10–20%, pose asymmetric against the beam, and reflect light asymmetrically and significantly polarisation-dependent. This provides an opportunity for the closed-ended problem by introducing an additional degree of freedom for the direction of induced momentum. We present the theory for polarised light dynamics, and develop a new scattering model for reflective space debris. The model is supplemented with laboratory measurements. We show that asymmetry of the targeted object in itself may turn the momentum 1–30° for typical debris objects, and polarisation of the incident beam is capable of further affecting this direction by several degrees.

The spectral bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) maps incident radiation of a surface to its outgoing counterpart at different wavelengths. This function plays a fundamental role in characterizing the various types of earth surfaces. Due to its high dimensionality, the measurements, analysis, and simulation of spectral BRDF are challenging. In this letter, we introduce a new method for processing spectral reflectance using the so-called data-adjacency, i.e., the correlation between adjacent wavelengths and viewing directions. The results show that the benefits of efficient representation, noise reduction, and analysis capability can all be integrated to the data. © 2019 IEEE. This work was supported by the Academy of Finland Consortium Project Albedo under Project 298137 and Project 298139.

Polarization remote sensing can be used to obtain polarization data for a given target. It can be acquire not only radiation data, as also measured by conventional remote sensing, but also to quant...

Polarization is the intrinsic property of electromagnetic wave and has not been fully investigated in remote sensing field. The incident solar radiation is polarized by the components in the atmosp...

The Earth’s spherical albedo describes the ratio of light reflected from the Earth to that incident from the Sun, an important input variable for the Earth’s radiation balance. The spherical albedo has been previously estimated from satellites in low-Earth orbits, and from light reflected from the Moon. However, neither of these methods can produce continuous time series of the entire planet. We developed a global method to derive the Earth’s spherical albedo using the images from the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on board NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). The satellite is located in the Lagrange 1 point between the Earth and the Sun and observes the complete illuminated part of the Earth at once. The method allows us to provide continuously updated spherical albedo time series data starting from 2015. This time series shows a systematic seasonal variation with the mean annual albedo estimated as 0.295±0.008 and an exceptional albedo maximum in 2020, attributed to unusually abundant cloudiness over the Southern Oceans.

In order to extend remote sensing techniques to reveal further important properties of land surfaces, such as pollution, we have measured and modelled the bidirectional reflectance factor and degre...

A calibration target for the support of airborne and satellite measurements was built at the Jarvselja site for ecological and remote sensing studies located in southeastern Estonia. The calibration target is a 10 × 10 m concrete panel which is protected by a removable roof. Optical properties of the panel are carefully studied in order to serve as a reference in spectroscopic remote sensing measurements. In this study we report the spectral distribution of reflectance in the wavelength range of 350–2500 nm, the angular distribution of directional reflectance and the linear polarization of the reflected radiation. The reflectance spectrum of the panel is smooth in the visible and NIR wavelengths but with steep decrease at wavelengths less than 400 nm. Variations of reflectance over the panel surface are less than 1%. The radiation is partly polarized in forward scattering direction. No temporal changes of optical properties have been observed. The calibration target improves the metrological quality of airborne spectral measurements at the Jarvselja test site and neighboring areas. It can also be used for ground truth to aid the validation of adjacency correction algorithms for data from high spatial resolution satellite images, as well as a reference for the registration of airborne and satellite images. It can also serve as an elevation reference for both lidar and radar altimeter measurements.

Global coverage of carbon dioxide (CO2) satellite observations is necessary for accurate seasonal carbon flux estimates. Sufficient seasonal coverage is particularly important for quantifying the carbon cycle at high Northern latitudes which are sensitive to the rapidly changing climate. However, high latitudes pose significant challenges to reliable space-based observations of greenhouse gases. One reason for the shortage of good quality CO2 observations in the high latitudes is the low reflectivity of snow-covered surfaces in the CO2 absorption bands, in addition to large solar zenith angles and frequent cloud coverage over the Arctic and boreal regions. Snow surfaces are highly forward-scattering and therefore the traditional nadir-viewing geometries over land might not be optimal. In addition, the contributions from the 1.6 um and 2.0 um CO2 absorption bands need to be evaluated over snow. In this work, we present a realistic, non-Lambertian surface reflection model of snow based on snow reflectance measurements and examine results of atmospheric radiative transfer simulations in various satellite observation geometries and the contributions from different absorption bands. This research lays important ground work for a dedicated feasibility study of CO2 retrievals over snow, which would ultimately help increase the quantity and reliability of satellite observations at high latitudes from late winter to spring – an important period for the carbon cycle in the rapidly changing Arctic climate.

Talk delivered in 14th Europlante Science Congress in Germany, 21 September 2020 - 09 October 2020, The visual observation of meteors has gathered over the last century the interest of scientists and the fascination of public. As the meteor observational techniques were spread worldwide, the meteor research community was avid of reliable mathematical relationships to derive further clues on these events: their orbital origin, their hazardous potential, etc. For such purpose, the combination of the meteor event observed flight parameters seemed to comply with these goals. Moreover, this approach was little by little more feasible given the technology growth that gradually improved the accuracy of the observations. Amongst all the suggested flight parameter relationships available in the literature, the one introduced by Ceplecha and McCrosky [1] in the mid 70¿s became timely and used in many studies as a `ground truth¿. The empirical work of Ceplecha and McCrosky [1] was also mathematically supported by the single body Newtonian formulation that is still widely used to model the meteor trajectory. Moreover, Ceplecha and McCrosky expanded the use of this relationship to elaborate a meteor classification. The classification relies on the value of a criterion, called PE, which ranks the value of the correlation given by the parameters included in the relationship. Although the authors did not expect the classification to be extremely accurate, it allows quick interpretation of the event under study. Consequently, both the criterion and the classification have played a relevant role in the scientific publication over the decades.

Many natural land surfaces, such as sand or snow, consist of densely packed grains, often covered by dust, water droplets, contaminated with other materials such as possible oil leaks, hoar frost, and can also be internally cracked, porous, and heterogeneous. Most scattering models ignore these complications, but here a more detailed approach is taken to test all these effects. The current model is composed of three techniques: 1) Monte Carlo-based electromagnetic volume integral equation technique for non-spherical wavelength scale dust particles, 2) Monte Carlo ray tracing for stochastic-shaped grains much larger than the wavelength, with optional point scattering from dust cover, internal inclusions, and liquid surface layer, in a layer of an optical depths of few units, and 3) adding-doubling to combine smaller layers into an arbitrary, thick and vertically inhomogeneous medium. The model allows the medium to be built in a modular way, and after initialisation, rather complicated layered structures can be computed quickly and flexibly. The computed results are compared against experimental measurements of snow and sand. The model agrees with measurements usually within the measurement accuracy (∼ 0:05). The scattering is observed to depend significantly on grain size, shape, orientation, composition, fine structures, dust, and some other properties that need to be defined. Both, measurement and modelling, require much deeper attention to these properties. © 2020 Copernicus GmbH. All rights reserved.

Theoretical, numerical, and experimental methods are presented for multiple scattering of light in macroscopic discrete random media of densely-packed microscopic particles. The theoretical and numerical methods constitute a framework of Radiative Transfer with Reciprocal Transactions (R2T2). The R2T2 framework entails Monte Carlo order-of-scattering tracing of interactions in the frequency space, assuming that the fundamental scatterers and absorbers are wavelength-scale volume elements composed of large numbers of randomly distributed particles. The discrete random media are fully packed with the volume elements. For spherical and nonspherical particles, the interactions within the volume elements are computed exactly using the Superposition T-Matrix Method (STMM) and the Volume Integral Equation Method (VIEM), respectively. For both particle types, the interactions between different volume elements are computed exactly using the STMM. As the tracing takes place within the discrete random media, incoherent electromagnetic fields are utilized, that is, the coherent field of the volume elements is removed from the interactions. The experimental methods are based on acoustic levitation of the samples for non-contact, non-destructive scattering measurements. The levitation entails full ultrasonic control of the sample position and orientation, that is, six degrees of freedom. The light source is a laser-driven white-light source with a monochromator and polarizer. The detector is a mini-photomultiplier tube on a rotating wheel, equipped with polarizers. The R2T2 is validated using measurements for a mm-scale spherical sample of densely-packed spherical silica particles. After validation, the methods are applied to interpret astronomical observations for asteroid (4) Vesta and comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (Figure 1) recently visited by the NASA Dawn mission and the ESA Rosetta mission, respectively. © 2019 JoVE. European Research Council, ERC: 320773 The present manuscript summarizes the findings of a project funded for five years in 2013-2018 by the European Research Council (ERC): Scattering and Absorption of ElectroMagnetic waves in ParticuLate media (SAEMPL, ERC Advanced Grant). SAEMPL succeeded in meeting its three main goals: first, novel numerical Monte Carlo methods were derived for multiple scattering by discrete random media of densely-packed particles16,17,18; second, novel experimental instrumentation was developed and constructed for controlled laboratory measurements of validation samples in levitation15; third, the numerical and experimental methods were applied to interpret astronomical observations19,20. Research supported by the ERC Advanced Grant № 320773. We thank the Laboratory of Chronology of the Finnish Museum of Natural History for the help with sample characterization.

The original kernel-driven bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) models were developed based on soil-vegetation systems. To further improve the ability of the models to characterize the snow surface scattering properties, a snow kernel was derived from the asymptotic radiative transfer (ART) model and used in the kernel-driven BRDF model framework. However, there is a need to further evaluate the influence of using this snow kernel to improve the original kernel-driven models in snow albedo retrieval applications. The aim of this study is to perform such an evaluation using a variety of snow BRDF data. The RossThick-Roujean (RTR) model is used as a framework for taking in the new snow kernel (hereafter named the RTS model) since the Roujean geometric-optical (GO) kernel captures a neglectable hotspot effect and represents a more prominent dome-shaped BRDF, especially at a small solar zenith angle (SZA). We obtained the following results: (1) The RTR model has difficulties in reconstructing the snow BRDF shape, especially at large SZAs, which tends to underestimate the reflectance in the forward direction and overestimate reflectance in the backward direction for various data sources. In comparison, the RTS model performs very well in fitting snow BRDF data and shows high accuracy for all data. (2) The RTR model retrieved snow albedos at SZAs = 30°−70° are underestimated by 0.71% and 0.69% in the red and near-infrared (NIR) bands, respectively, compared with the simulation results of the bicontinuous photon tracking (bic-PT) model, which serve as “real” values. However, the albedo retrieved by the RTS model is significantly improved and generally agrees well with the simulation results of the bic-PT model, although the improved model still somewhat underestimates the albedo by 0.01% in the red band and overestimates the albedo by 0.05% in the NIR band, respectively, at SZAs = 30°−70°, which may be negligible. (3) The albedo derived by these two models shows a high correlation (R2 > 0.9) between the field-measured and Polarization and Directionality of the Earth’s Reflectances (POLDER) data, especially for the black-sky albedo. However, the albedo derived using the RTR model is significantly underestimated compared with the RTS model. The RTR model underestimates the black-sky albedo (white-sky albedo) retrievals by 0.62% (1.51%) and 0.93% (2.08%) in the red and NIR bands, respectively, for the field-measured data. The shortwave black-sky and white-sky albedos derived using the RTR model for the POLDER data are underestimated by 1.43% and 1.54%, respectively, compared with the RTS model. These results indicate that the snow kernel in the kernel-driven BRDF model frame is more accurate in snow albedo retrievals and has the potential for application in the field of the regional and global energy budget.

The light-scattering properties of volcanic sand collected in Iceland are studied here to characterize the sand particles and develop a reference for future remote-sensing observations. While such sand is common in Iceland, the smaller-size fraction can be readily transported by winds and found in the atmosphere at distant locations. The sand appears dark when deposited on a surface due to the high optical absorption of the material. Therefore, atmospheric regions containing such particles during a dust storm may absorb sunlight considerably, causing redistribution of solar energy. Here, we measure the angular scattered-light intensity and degree of linear polarization from the sand. This is done with two experimental apparatuses, the Cosmic Dust Laboratory (CoDuLab) at the Institute de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA) and the goniospectropolarimeter (FIGIFIGO) at the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI). Two scattering-scenarios of practical interest for remote-sensing applications are considered: (1) single sand-particles suspended in aerosol as an optically thin cloud, and (2) the same particles deposited on a substrate. We also model the measurements with the discrete dipole approximation to estimate the complex-valued refractive index m, where we find that m ≈ 1.6 + 0.01i at λ = 647 nm. Lastly, we present a comparative analysis of the polarimetric response of the sand particles with that reported in the literature for carbon-soot, another highly absorbing atmospheric contaminant. © 2019, This research was partially supported by the Academy of Finland Project no. 260027 and the COST Action MP1104 “Polarization as a tool to study the Solar System and beyond”. NZ acknowledges Magnus Ehrnrooth Foundation for the research travel support. This work also has been partially supported by contracts AYA2015-67152-R and RTI2018-095330-B-I00 .

Light scattered by the surface–atmosphere system is partially polarized and provides useful information about aerosols and the underlying surface as polarized signals are sensitive to angular information about aerosols. To fully utilize this information, separating polarization signals of the atmosphere and surface by using the bidirectional polarized distribution function (BPDF) is necessary. However, although several BPDF models have been developed, the effects of the uncertainties of these models on the top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) have not been fully investigated. In this study, we utilize the newly released POLarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances (POLDER) dataset as a measured surface polarized reflectance dataset to parameterize the six currently used BPDF models. The measured and modeled surface polarized reflectances are used as inputs to vector radiative transfer models by statistical aggregating schemes considering all possible POLDER geometries. The root mean square errors between the measured and modeled polarized reflectances at the TOA decreased to 60–75% of the root mean square errors between the measured and modeled polarized reflectances at the surface and further decreased to a relatively low level (20%–30%) when the aerosol optical depth (AOD) increased. The BPDF uncertainty mainly affects the aerosol property retrievals mainly at low aerosol loadings. However, the accuracy of the surface BPDF required to obtain a sufficiently accurate retrieval at small AODs is still unknown. This study provides further insights that are valuable for understanding the coupling effect of the surface and atmosphere and important methods and information for retrieval of aerosol properties.

We consider the scattering and absorption of light in discrete random media of densely packed spherical particles. In what we term "radiative transfer with reciprocal transactions" (R2T2), we introduce a volume element of the random medium, derive its scattering and absorption characteristics using the superposition T-Matrix method (STMM), and compute its frequency-domain incoherent volume-element scattering characteristics. Using an order-of-scattering approach, we then compute a numerical Monte Carlo solution for the scattering problem with an exact treatment of the interaction between two volume elements. We compute both the direct and reciprocal contributions along a sequence of volume elements, allowing us to evaluate the coherent backscattering effects. We show that the R2T2 and exact STMM solutions are in mutual agreement for large finite systems of densely packed spherical particles. We conclude that the R2T2 method provides a viable numerical solution for scattering by asymptotically infinite systems of particles.

We have measured reflectance spectra (450–2250 nm) of centimeter-size pieces of 18 different meteorites. The measurements were carried out with the Finnish Geodetic Institute Field Goniospectrometer. Principal Component Analysis performed on the spectra tends to separate the undifferentiated ordinary chondrites and differentiated achondrites. Furthermore, we determined single-scattering albedos for meteoritic single particles with a phenomenological radiative-transfer model using realistic scattering phase functions. Single-scattering albedos for the analyzed ordinary chondrites range from 0.65 to 0.9.

In this study, we conduct a detailed analysis of the Ko\v{s}ice meteorite fall (February 28, 2010), in order to derive a reliable law describing the mass distribution among the recovered fragments. In total, 218 fragments of the Ko\v{s}ice meteorite, with a total mass of 11.285 kg, were analyzed. Bimodal Weibull, bimodal Grady and bimodal lognormal distributions are found to be the most appropriate for describing the Ko\v{s}ice fragmentation process. Based on the assumption of bimodal lognormal, bimodal Grady, bimodal sequential and bimodal Weibull fragmentation distributions, we suggest that, prior to further extensive fragmentation in the lower atmosphere, the Ko\v{s}ice meteoroid was initially represented by two independent pieces with cumulative residual masses of approximately 2 kg and 9 kg respectively. The smaller piece produced about 2 kg of multiple lightweight meteorite fragments with the mean around 12 g. The larger one resulted in 9 kg of meteorite fragments, recovered on the ground, including the two heaviest pieces of 2.374 kg and 2.167 kg with the mean around 140 g. Based on our investigations, we conclude that two to three larger fragments of 500-1000g each should exist, but were either not recovered or not reported by illegal meteorite hunters.

The measurement uncertainty and traceability of the Finnish Geodetic Institutes¿s field gonio-spectro-polarimeter FIGIFIGO have been assessed. First, the reference standard (Spectralon sample) was measured at the National Standard Laboratory of MIKES-Aalto. This standard was transferred to FGI¿s field reference standard (larger Spectralon sample), and from that to the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), reference standards (1 m2 plates). The reflectance measurement uncertainty of FIGIFIGO has been estimated to be 0.01 in ideal laboratory conditions, but about 0.02–0.05 in typical field conditions, larger at larger solar or observation zenith angles. Target specific uncertainties can increase total uncertainty even to 0.1–0.2. The angular reading uncertainty is between 1° and 3°, depending on user selection, and the polarisation uncertainty is around 0.01. For UAV, the transferred reflectance uncertainty is about 0.05–0.1, depending on, how ideal the measurement conditions are. The design concept of FIGIFIGO has been proved to have a number of advantages, such as a well-adopted user-friendly interface, a high level of automation and excellent suitability for the field measurements. It is a perfect instrument for collection of reference data on a given target in natural (and well-recorded) conditions. In addition to the strong points of FIGIFIGO, the current study reveals several issues that need further attention, such as the field of view, illumination quality, polarisation calibration, Spectralon reflectance and polarisation properties in the 1000–2400 nm range.

Out of a total around 50,000 meteorites currently known to science, the atmospheric passage was recorded instrumentally in only 25 cases with the potential to derive their atmospheric trajectories and pre-impact heliocentric orbits. Similarly, while observations of meteors generate thousands of new entries per month to existing databases, it is extremely rare they lead to meteorite recovery (http://www.meteoriteorbits.info/). These 25 exceptional cases thus deserve a thorough re-examination by different techniques—not only to ensure that we are able to match the model with the observations, but also to enable the best possible interpretation scenario and facilitate the robust extraction of key characteristics of a meteoroid based on the available data. In this study, we evaluate the dynamic mass of the Kosice meteoroid using analysis of drag and mass-loss rate available from the observations. We estimate the dynamic pre-atmospheric meteoroid mass at 1850 kg. The pre-fragmentation size proportions of the Kosice meteoroid are estimated based on the statistical distribution of the recovered meteorite fragments. The heliocentric orbit of the Kosice meteoroid, derived using numerical integration of the equations of motion, is found to be in close agreement to earlier published results.

We study multiple scattering of electromagnetic waves in discrete random media of densely packed spherical particles. We conceptualize the scattering problem in terms of coherent and incoherent fields, focusing in on the ladder and cyclical interaction diagrams, and introduce wavelength-scale volume elements of particles as elementary scatterers. We describe a Monte Carlo radiative-transfer coherent-backscattering method for the approximate numerical solution to multiple scattering. Finally, we compare the results to exact computations using the Superposition T-Matrix Method and offer example computations for very large systems of particles.

We experimentally study light scattering by particulate surfaces consisting of two high-contrast materials. Using the Finnish Geodetic Institute field goniospectropolarimeter, reflectance and degree of linear polarization are measured in dark volcanic sand, bright salt (NaCl) and bright ferric sulfate (Fe 2 (SO 4 ) 3 ); and in mixtures of bright and dark components. We found that the light-scattering response monotonically changes with volume ratio of dark and bright components. In contrast to previous finding, we do not detect an enhancement of the negative polarization amplitude in two-component high-contrast mixtures. Two-component mixtures reveal an inverse correlation between maximum of their linear polarization and reflectance near backscattering, the so-called Umov effect. In log–log scales this inverse correlation takes a linear form for the dark and moderate-dark samples, while for the brightest samples there is a noticeable deviation from the linear trend.

We have performed laboratory measurements of the bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) of a sample of dark volcanic sand. The measurements were carried out with three different treatments of the sample to produce different porosity and roughness characteristics. We model the measured BRF with a semi-numerical scattering model for particulate media, meant especially for dark planetary regoliths. We compare the BRF in two different spectral bands, 500-600 nm and 800-900 nm. The particulate medium (PM). scattering model is found to fit the measured data well, with a phase function representing the differences between the spectral bands. The interpretation of the physical parameters of the PM model is qualitatively sound, but remains somewhat uncertain due in part to the difficulty of characterizing the measured sample. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Land surface hemispherical albedos of several targets have been resolved using the bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) library of the Finnish Geodetic Institute (FGI). The library contains BRF data measured by FGI during the years 2003–2009. Surface albedos are calculated using selected BRF datasets from the library. Polynomial interpolation and extrapolation have been used in computations. Several broadband conversion formulae generally used for satellite based surface albedo retrieval have been tested. The albedos were typically found to monotonically increase with increasing zenith angle of the Sun. The surface albedo variance was significant even within each target category / surface type. In general, the albedo estimates derived using diverse broadband conversion formulas and estimates obtained by direct integration of the measured spectra were in line.

Radiometric stability is a desired property of digital photogrammetric large-format sensors. This article presents a methodology for determining the radiometric stability of airborne imaging sensors in operational conditions in a test field and the results of stability evaluation of a large-format photogrammetric frame sensor DMC, from Intergraph. The imagery was collected in two days using nine different exposure settings, and images collected with variable exposure time and aperture were compared. The results showed promising stability in many cases, up to a level of 2% of the radiance, but less favorable results also appeared. Possible reasons for the unfavorable results could be the limitations of the experimental set-up or the instability of the sensor. DMC showed high radiometric performance potential, but high sensitivity to the exposure settings. Based on the results, recommendations for the future test field calibration and validation procedures were given. One limitation of the analysis was the insufficient information about the sensor stability potential; proposals were given to sensor manufacturers concerning the necessary information.

This paper describes a method for retrieving the bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) of land-surface areas, using a small consumer camera on board an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and introducing an advanced calibration routine. Images with varying view directions were taken of snow cover using the UAV. The vignetting effect was corrected from the images, and reflectance factor images were calculated using a calibrated white target as a reference. After spatial registration of the images using a corresponding point method, the target surface was divided into a grid, and a BRF was generated for each grid element. Lastly a model was fitted to the BRF dataset for data interpretation. The retrieved BRF were compared to parallel ground measurements. Comparison showed similar BRF and reflectance factor characteristics, which suggests that accurate measurements can be taken with cheap consumer cameras, if enough attention is paid to calibration of the images.

Forest background, consisting of understory, moss, litter, and soil, contributes significantly to optical remote sensing signals from forests in the boreal region. In this paper, we present results of background reflectance retrieval from multiangle high-resolution Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager sensor data over a boreal forest area near Sudbury, ON, Canada. Modifications of the background by white and black plastic sheets at two sites provide two extreme limits for the development and testing of an algorithm for retrieving the background information from multiangle data. Measured background reflectances in red and near-infrared bands at six sites in the vicinity of these modified sites are used to validate the algorithm. We also explore the effect of uncertainties in the input forest structural parameters on this retrieval. The results document: 1) capability of the algorithm to retrieve meaningful background reflectance values for various forest stand conditions, particularly in the low to intermediate canopy density range; 2) the effect of background bidirectional reflectance distribution function on retrieved values; 3) performance of the algorithm using data with different cross angle values; and 4) verification of the internal consistency of the geometric-optical 4-Scale model used. The results provide an important platform for the operational estimation of the vegetation background reflectance from the bidirectional reflections observed by the Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument.

The bidirectional reflectance factor and degree of linear polarisation of selected snow, soil, and gravel types have been measured using Finnish geodetic institute field goniospectropolariphotometer (FIGIFIGO). It was observed that with all measured samples the degree of linear polarisation is weakest 0 – 30 ∘ backwards from nadir, turning 1–5% negative in the backward direction, and growing larger (5–50%) in the forward and Brewster directions. Polarisation was found to be inversely but non-linearly proportional to reflectance. In addition, a wavelength-dependent trend was found to exist in some data, but in general, the wavelength dependence was smooth. Dry old snow polarises clearly more than melting snow or new snow. White gravel polarises somewhat similarly to snow in visible region, and black gravel resembles snow in infrared. The authors conclude that polarisation observations may be useful in land surface remote sensing, but that only far-forward angles ( 60 – 70 ∘ ) contain a strong enough signal for easy interpretation. The polarisation spectrum brings little additional information to reflection spectrum, but in conditions where the reflectance spectrum cannot be accurately normalised or incident irradiation is not known, polarisation spectrum could still be usable. The directional signal is strong and may yield refractive index or microstructure, and must be understood in any application. Polarisation near nadir is low for all known samples, and can thus be safely ignored with most non-polarised imaging applications. However, for accurate atmospheric polarimetry, e.g. by polarisation and directionality of the earth's reflectances (POLDER) or aerosol polarimetry sensor (APS) sensors, it is recommended to take into account land surface polarisation.

This study measured the spectral bidirectional reflectance factors of selected vegetated land surfaces in two linear polarisation directions. It was observed that the degree of linear polarisation is usually weakest near nadir, turning 1–5% negative in the backward direction, and growing larger in the forward and Brewster directions. Polarisation was found to be inversely but non-linearly proportional to reflectance. In addition, a wavelength-dependent trend was found to exist in some data, but in general, the wavelength dependence was smooth. In most of the practical applications, a few well-selected channels would give all the available information. The authors conclude that polarisation observations may be useful in land surface remote sensing, but that only far-forward angles ( 60 – 70 ∘ ) contain a strong enough signal for easy interpretation. Polarisation near nadir is low for all known samples, and can thus be safely ignored. Despite a strong theoretical interest, no clearly discriminating signal was found in the negative polarisation branch near backward direction, providing few opportunities for quantitative analysis. There must be a better understanding of the directional effects in all applications.

Reference targets with known reflectance properties are needed in remote-sensing in-flight calibration. The spectral and directional reflection properties of nine asphalt surfaces and concrete, and sand were measured. Corresponding polarization properties were also measured for five asphalts and for both sand and concrete. Measurements were obtained using the Finnish Geodetic Institute Field Goniospectrometer. The newly constructed smooth asphalt surfaces had lowest reflectances, and they produced strong forward scatter. The aged and deteriorated surfaces produced more isotropic scatter. The overall reflectance of the aged surfaces was higher than that of the newly constructed surfaces, and they were darkest when viewed close to nadir. Near nadir reflectance of all asphalt surfaces had low angular dependence. Light reflected from the newly constructed asphalt surfaces was found to have a large polarization ratio in the forward direction, as the aged asphalt surfaces were found to be less polarizing. All measured asphalt surfaces were spectrally flat, without dominating features. The measurements showed clearly that asphalt surfaces cannot be used as stable reflection targets without additional knowledge of the asphalt surface. Asphalt can serve as medium-accuracy white balancing media, but more quantitative use for calibration purposes requires the reflection properties to be either individually measured at each location or the properties of the asphalt to be known. The latter is a possible practical element in digital aerial image calibration, but it requires further studies.

The design, operation, and properties of the Finnish Geodetic Institute Field Goniospectrometer (FIGIFIGO) are presented. FIGIFIGO is a portable instrument for the measurement of surface Bidirectional Reflectance Factor (BRF) for samples with diameters of 10 – 50 cm. A set of polarising optics enable the measurement of linearly polarised BRF over the full solar spectrum (350 – 2,500 nm). FIGIFIGO is designed mainly for field operation using sunlight, but operation in a laboratory environment is also possible. The acquired BRF have an accuracy of 1 – 5% depending on wavelength, sample properties, and measurement conditions. The angles are registered at accuracies better than 2°. During 2004 – 2008, FIGIFIGO has been used in the measurement of over 150 samples, all around northern Europe. The samples concentrate mostly on boreal forest understorey, snow, urban surfaces, and reflectance calibration surfaces.

The Sjokulla test site is used for testing and calibrating aerial images. The permanent test field is made of four types of gravel (dark gabbro, grey granite, red granite, white limestone) in two sizes (diameters 8–16 mm and 4–8 mm) set in various patterns. The bidirectional reflection properties of the targets together with their temporal changes must be known in order to carry out radiometric and spectral evaluation and calibration. The bidirectional reflectance distribution functions (BRF) of the gravel have been measured several times in the test fields using portable field goniospectrometers belonging Finnish Geodetic Institute (FGI), and once using the European Goniometic Facility (EGO) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) at Ispra, Italy. Detailed BRFs have been obtained, showing features typical to particulate media, e.g. a small bowl shape, strong backscattering, and smooth wavelength dependence. Temporal range measurements over several years show that the black gabbro and red granite are fairly stable, while the grey granite has changed somewhat over the years and the white limestone has experienced dramatic darkening effects, requiring action to be taken. The measured BRF data have increased the usability of the test field considerably. The results are also useful in the development and validation of scattering models for particulate media. The site has proved to be a good test bench for goniospectrometric instruments, too.