Skip to main content

Description

The objective of this work was to produce a monthly climatology of broadband surface albedos for use in global numerical weather prediction models at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Monthly means of clear-sky, surface, broadband, snow-free albedos for overhead sun illumination angle were determined using data from a five-year period from April 1985-December 1987 and January 1989-March 1991. The data set is compatible in temporal coverage and spatial resolution with a monthly climatology of green vegetation fraction (Gutman and Ignatov, 1998) delivered earlier and currently in use at NCEP. Files showing the differences between the original data set and the Land/water mask used in the International Satellite land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) Initiative II are also provided.

Product Summary

Platforms
FIELD INVESTIGATION,
NOAA-14,
Terra
Instruments
STEEL MEASURING TAPE,
LICOR LEAF AREA METER,
MODIS,
AVHRR
Spatial Extent
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
1985-04-01 to 1991-03-31
Data Partner
THE OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY (ORNL) DISTRIBUTED ACTIVE ARCHIVE CENTER (DAAC) (ORNL_DAAC)
Concept ID
C2784885509-ORNL_CLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Albedo,
Vegetation Index,
Vegetation Index,
Vegetation Cover,
Plant Characteristics,
Leaf Characteristics,
Canopy Characteristics,
Reflectance

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Csiszar, I. A., Hall, F. G., Collatz, G. J., Meeson, B. W., Los, S. O., Brown de Colstoun, E., & Landis, D. R. (2009). ISLSCP II NOAA 5-year Average Monthly Snow-free Albedo from AVHRR (Version 1). ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/959 Date Accessed: 2025-09-06

Documents

Learning Resources

View All Learning Resources
Filters
No Results

Publications Citing This Dataset