Airborne MISR Snow Albedo Validation Data from Colorado 2001

February-March 2001 data from the Colorado snow albedo field experiment in the Yampa Valley, focused on validating satellite-derived snow albedo estimates from MISR and MODIS. The dataset contains Airborne Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (AirMISR) imagery collected on March 8, 2001, using a single pivoting camera on a NASA ER-2 aircraft to simulate nine MISR look angles. It was built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA as part of ecological and climate studies.

Use Cases

• Validating snow albedo algorithms for the satellite MISR instrument by comparing multi-angle airborne imagery.
• Characterizing atmospheric conditions over snow-covered terrain to improve radiative transfer models.
• Studying spatial variability of snow reflectance at different viewing angles (nadir to oblique).
• Calibrating and testing Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow product algorithms.

Strengths

• Provides multi-angle imagery with nine distinct look angles over a single target area, crucial for validation.
• Contains data from a focused field experiment with a known validation site (40.4N, 106.8W) and specific collection date (March 8, 2001).
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov indicates recognized importance for climate science.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are unknown across all platforms.
• Sources disagree on license: NASA Earthdata lists no license, while Data.gov lists 'other-license-specified', creating uncertainty.
• The temporal coverage is limited to a single campaign in February-March 2001.

Provenance

Source

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, built for NASA.

Collection Method

Data acquired by the AirMISR instrument mounted on a NASA ER-2 aircraft, using a pivoting gimbal to capture nine angles over the same ground area.

Time Range

February-March 2001, with specific flight data collected on March 8, 2001.

Freshness

2026-03-13 17:56:55.713389

Geography

Yampa Valley, Colorado, USA, with validation site at 40.4N, 106.8W south of Steamboat Springs.