In situ measurements of polarization properties of snow surface under the Brewster geometry in Hokkaido, Japan, and northwest Greenland ice sheet

Ground-based measurements of spectral degree of linear polarization (DLP) of various snow types were made during intensive field campaigns in a snowfield in Hokkaido, Japan, and on the northwest Greenland ice sheet in 2012. Spectral measurements were conducted under the solar zenith angle of approximately the Brewster angle in order to quantify the polarization properties of light reflected from snow. We obtained spectral DLPs for five different snow types in both field campaigns including precipitation particles, needles, surface hoar, melt forms, and melt freeze crust covering the snow surface. The measurements showed that in the visible region the spectral dependence of the DLP was small while in the near infrared region it increased with increasing snow grain size with some distinct local peaks. The angular dependence indicated that the DLP exhibited small angular dependence in the visible region while in the near-infrared region it exhibited large and broad peaks in the forward direction. Especially for the melt-freeze crust, the DLP approached 1.0 at wavelengths close to λ = 1.5 and 2.0 μm. These features can be explained by (1) the relative contribution of surface versus volume scattering to the reflected light, (2) the incident angle (solar zenith angle) of approximately the Brewster angle, and (3) the ratio between direct and diffuse components of the solar radiation incident on the snow surface. The spectral DLP was found to be quiet sensitive to the incident solar radiation and solar elevation as well as snow optical properties. Comparison between the spectral DLP and snow grain size obtained by snow pit work shows that the DLP for λ > 1.5 μm was very sensitive to large snow grains close to the surface. This finding suggests that polarization measurements obtained from airborne/satellite polarimeters will be useful for surface snow grain size retrievals and help improve the accuracy of such retrievals based on the intensity-only measurements, especially for the large snow grain sizes.

[1]  Laurent Arnaud,et al.  Determining snow specific surface area from near-infrared reflectance measurements: Numerical study of the influence of grain shape , 2009 .

[2]  Harold W. O'Brien,et al.  Red and near-infrared spectral reflectance of snow , 1972 .

[3]  Thomas C. Grenfell,et al.  Representation Of A Nonspherical Ice Particle By A Collection Of Independent Spheres For Scattering And Absorption Of Radiation : 2 . Hexagonal Columns And Plates , 2003 .

[4]  Frank D. Eaton,et al.  Some Characteristics of the Albedo of Snow , 1975 .

[5]  Larry L. Stowe,et al.  Reflectance characteristics of uniform Earth and cloud surfaces derived from NIMBUS‐7 ERB , 1984 .

[6]  Judith C. Chow,et al.  The dri thermal/optical reflectance carbon analysis system: description, evaluation and applications in U.S. Air quality studies , 1993 .

[7]  A. Kokhanovsky,et al.  Analysis of snow bidirectional reflectance from ARCTAS Spring-2008 Campaign , 2009 .

[8]  Y. Lv,et al.  The reflectance and negative polarization of light scattered from snow surfaces with different grain size in backward direction , 2014 .

[9]  P. J. Curran,et al.  Remote sensing using partially polarized light , 1986 .

[10]  Jens Nieke,et al.  ADEOS-II/GLI snow/ice products — Part II: Validation results using GLI and MODIS data , 2007 .

[11]  Cornelis V. M. van der Mee,et al.  Fundamental relationships relevant to the transfer of polarized light in a scattering atmosphere , 1983 .

[12]  A. Kokhanovsky,et al.  Intercomparison of retrieval algorithms for the specific surface area of snow from near-infrared satellite data in mountainous terrain, and comparison with the output of a semi-distributed snowpack model , 2013 .

[13]  Zhongqiu Sun,et al.  The effects of grain size on bidirectional polarized reflectance factor measurements of snow , 2011 .

[14]  B. Cairns,et al.  Iterative atmospheric correction scheme and the polarization color of alpine snow , 2011 .

[15]  Teruo Aoki,et al.  Remote sensing of snow grain-size and impurities from Airborne Multispectral Scanner data using a snow bidirectional reflectance distribution function model , 2002, Annals of Glaciology.

[16]  Teemu Hakala,et al.  Polarised Multiangular Reflectance Measurements Using the Finnish Geodetic Institute Field Goniospectrometer , 2009, Sensors.

[17]  Pierluigi Calanca,et al.  IAC ETH Goniospectrometer: A Tool for Hyperspectral HDRF Measurements , 2006 .

[18]  Misako Kachi,et al.  Global Change Observation Mission (GCOM) for Monitoring Carbon, Water Cycles, and Climate Change , 2010, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[19]  V. V. Salomonson,et al.  Anisotropic Solar Reflectance over White Sand, Snow and Stratus Clouds. , 1968 .

[20]  T. Tanikawa,et al.  Light-absorbing snow impurity concentrations measured on Northwest Greenland ice sheet in 2011 and 2012 , 2014 .

[21]  Teruo Aoki,et al.  Effects of snow physical parameters on shortwave broadband albedos , 2003 .

[22]  Alexei Lyapustin,et al.  Retrieval of snow grain size over Greenland from MODIS. , 2009 .

[23]  Teruo Aoki,et al.  Effects of snow physical parameters on spectral albedo and bidirectional reflectance of snow surface , 2000 .

[24]  Thomas H. Painter,et al.  MULTISPECTRAL AND HYPERSPECTRAL REMOTE SENSING OF ALPINE SNOW PROPERTIES , 2004 .

[25]  S. Warren,et al.  Optical constants of ice from the ultraviolet to the microwave: A revised compilation , 2008 .

[26]  Shunlin Liang,et al.  Mapping daily snow/ice shortwave broadband albedo from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS): The improved direct retrieval algorithm and validation with Greenland in situ measurement , 2005 .

[27]  Eleonora P. Zege,et al.  Reflective properties of natural snow: approximate asymptotic theory versus in situ measurements , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[28]  A. Ohmura,et al.  A field study of the hemispherical directional reflectance factor and spectral albedo of dry snow , 2006 .

[29]  Osamu Abe,et al.  Monte Carlo simulations of spectral albedo for artificial snowpacks composed of spherical and nonspherical particles. , 2006, Applied optics.

[30]  Roberto Salzano,et al.  Correlation between the specific surface area and the short wave infrared (SWIR) reflectance of snow , 2006 .

[31]  Stephen G. Warren,et al.  Optical Properties of Snow , 1982 .

[32]  Harold W. O'Brien.  Observations of the Ultraviolet Spectral Reflectance of Snow , 1977 .

[33]  Ice.  The international classification for seasonal snow on the ground , 1990 .

[34]  H. Iwabuchi,et al.  Effect of sastrugi on snow bidirectional reflectance and its application to MODIS data , 2011 .

[35]  Alan R. Gillespie,et al.  Spatial relationships between snow contaminant content, grain size, and surface temperature from multispectral images of Mt. Rainier, Washington (USA) , 2003 .

[36]  Thomas C. Grenfell,et al.  The Optical Properties of Ice and Snow in the Arctic Basin , 1977, Journal of Glaciology.

[37]  T. Painter,et al.  Retrieval of subpixel snow-covered area and grain size from imaging spectrometer data , 2003 .

[38]  S. Warren,et al.  A Model for the Spectral Albedo of Snow. I: Pure Snow , 1980 .

[39]  Michel Fily,et al.  Comparison of in situ and Landsat Thematic Mapper derived snow grain characteristics in the alps , 1997 .

[40]  E. Puttonen,et al.  Polarised bidirectional reflectance factor measurements from soil, stones, and snow , 2009 .

[41]  Teruo Aoki,et al.  ADEOS-II/GLI snow/ice products — Part III: Retrieved results , 2007 .

[42]  Masamu Aniya,et al.  SNOW BIDIRECTIONAL REFLECTANCE MODEL USING NON-SPHERICAL SNOW PARTICLES AND ITS VALIDATION WITH FIELD MEASUREMENTS , 2006 .

[43]  T. Aoki,et al.  Field activities of the "Snow Impurity and Glacial Microbe effects on abrupt warming in the Arctic" (SIGMA) Project in Greenland in 2011-2013（2011-2013年グリーンランドにおけるSIGMAプロジェクトの野外活動報告） , 2014 .

[44]  Judith C. Chow,et al.  Comparison of IMPROVE and NIOSH Carbon Measurements , 2001 .

[45]  Knut Stamnes,et al.  Remote Sensing of Surface and Cloud Properties in the Arctic from AVHRR Measurements , 1999 .

[46]  S. Warren,et al.  A Model for the Spectral Albedo of Snow. II: Snow Containing Atmospheric Aerosols , 1980 .

[47]  M. Kuhn.  Bidirectional Reflectance of Polar and Alpine Snow Surfaces , 1985 .

[48]  Teruo Aoki,et al.  Retrieval of snow physical parameters using a ground-based spectral radiometer. , 2009, Applied optics.

[49]  Teruo Aoki,et al.  Numerical Simulation of the Atmospheric Effects on Snow Albedo with a Multiple Scattering Radiative , 1999 .

[50]  Jean Luc Deuze,et al.  Ground measurements of the polarized bidirectional reflectance of snow in the near‐infrared spectral domain: Comparisons with model results , 1998 .

[51]  Wei Li,et al.  ADEOS-II/GLI snow/ice products — Part I: Scientific basis , 2007 .