Surface Spectra of Red and Green Snow Algae from Antarctic Islands, January 2018

NASA Earthdata hosts surface spectra of red and green snow algae collected on King George and Nelson Islands in January 2018. The dataset contains spectral reflectance measurements from 350 to 1350 nm for 24 sites, including control, green, red, and mixed algae patches. Data was gathered using an ASD FieldSpec 4 hyperspectral spectroradiometer under overcast conditions to minimize ground impact and solar glint.

Use Cases

• Modeling spectral albedo of snow based on algae concentration and type described in the sampling protocol.
• Developing remote sensing algorithms to detect and classify snow algae blooms from satellite data based on the hyperspectral signatures.
• Studying the radiative forcing impact of snow algae on Antarctic snowmelt using the reflectance ratio data.
• Calibrating or validating bio-optical models for snow ecosystems using the empirical spectral measurements.

Strengths

• Measurements were taken from optically thick snow packs (>30cm) to minimize ground influence.
• Data includes 24 measurement sites with duplicates for control, green, red, and mixed algae types across three locations.
• Spectral reflectance was calculated as the ratio of upwelling to downwelling flux, with each site measurement taken in triplicate and averaged.

Limitations

• Reflectance values were truncated at 1350 nm due to low signal-to-noise in short-wave infrared wavelengths.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

AMD_USAPDC via NASA Earthdata

Collection Method

Field measurements collected with an ASD FieldSpec 4 hyperspectral spectroradiometer using a remote cosine receptor.

Time Range

January 2018

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

King George Island and Nelson Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctic region.