A study of BRDF over Tokyo for the spaceborne measurements of atmospheric trace gases

In the present study, we aim at developing an empirical model of BRDF over Tokyo, Japan, which is one of the most polluted areas in Asia, to evaluate the effect of the surface albedo on air-pollution monitoring from space. We used the RossThick-LiSparseReciprocal model with MODIS data to retrieve BRDF information. The BRDF had a strong dependence on season and local time, and the magnitude of the seasonal and local time change was up to 50%.