Tell me more ×
Geographic Information Systems Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for cartographers, geographers and GIS professionals. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite
1

Can anyone tell me what is the difference between Albedo and surface reflectance? I know for sure that they are not the same. Any links / comments are most welcome.

Thanks GBh

share|improve this question
1  
"Albedo is defined as the fraction of incident radiation that is reflected by a surface. While reflectance is defined as this same fraction for a single incidence angle, albedo is the directional integration of reflectance over all sun-view geometries." -- Retrieval of surface albedo from space. – whuber♦ Oct 15 '12 at 15:27
1  
@whuber, that actually sounds a lot like diffuse (multiple/all angles of reflection) vs. specular (1 angle of reflection). – blah238 Oct 15 '12 at 18:11
@GBh, what does "Surface Reflectance" mean to you in this context (providing such context will help potential answerers provide better answers). – blah238 Oct 15 '12 at 18:12
Everyone thanks for the reply. @blah238 -I think surface reflectance and reflectance are probably the same Albedo is different from reflectance , I somewhat agree with whuber. Please let me know If we can further clarify between reflectance and albedo Regards, GBh – user11997 Oct 15 '12 at 21:14
1  
There is a good link from OSU here: curry.eas.gatech.edu/Courses/6140/ency/Chapter9/Ency_Atmos/… – Aaron Oct 15 '12 at 22:16

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote

Albedo is a measure of the diffuse reflectivity of a surface, as opposed to specular reflectivity such as that of glass or water.

Diffuse vs Specular reflection

share|improve this answer
1  
I cannot find any reference that equates specular reflection with "surface reflectance." Could you quote an authoritative source for your answer? – whuber♦ Oct 15 '12 at 15:27
I avoided making that equation because I don't know what "surface reflectance" is. AFAIK the statement is factual based on the Wikipedia links given, but a better answer would probably say something specifically about "surface reflectance" and what it means to the OP. – blah238 Oct 15 '12 at 16:17
1  
Please, then, consider posting a comment to the question asking for what the meaning of "surface reflectance" is in this context. That preliminary back-and-forth helps assure that the answers that get posted are actually relevant to the questions. :-) – whuber♦ Oct 15 '12 at 16:19

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.