Seasonal Surface Albedo Derived From Global Vegetation Maps

Seasonal integrated surface albedo values are derived from global vegetation and cultivation intensity maps for snow-free conditions. The data comprises four files representing winter, spring, summer, and autumn, each with a spatial resolution of one degree latitude/longitude. It was compiled by Matthews at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies and published in 1983.

Use Cases

• Model seasonal radiative forcing by incorporating the four seasonal albedo values into land surface schemes.
• Analyze relationships between the 32 vegetation classes and the derived albedo values for different seasons.
• Study historical agricultural expansion by mapping the cultivation intensity percentage against natural vegetation.
• Validate modern albedo remote sensing products by comparing them with these historical, model-derived baseline maps.
• Assess spatial patterns of surface reflectance by analyzing the one-degree grid cell values across hemispheres for each season.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage from 90°N to 90°S and 180°W to 180°E.
• Consistent one-degree latitude/longitude grid resolution across all four seasonal files.
• Data integration from up to 100 existing map sources for the underlying vegetation classification.
• Each data file comprises 64.8 kilobytes with 180 rows by 360 columns of data.

Limitations

• Albedo values are model-derived from vegetation maps, not directly measured, introducing potential bias.
• Data represents snow-free conditions only, excluding seasonal snow cover effects on albedo.
• The underlying source maps and compilation methodology are from the early 1980s, limiting contemporary relevance.

Provenance

Source

Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), Columbia University.

Collection Method

Compiled from up to 100 existing vegetation map sources and satellite imagery, with albedo values derived from these maps.

Geography

Global.