Mapping urban landcover using the bidirectional reflectance distribution function BRDF/albedo product from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)

This paper reports on the results of an evaluation study on using the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF)/albedo product for global urban mapping. Results over Western Europe and Florida look promising, and are evaluated with respect to the extensive quality assurance (QA) information which accompanies the product. The QA information provides information on the number of full versus magnitude inversions which are sourced from a look-up table. Better sampling will be available with Terra´s sister spacecraft ´Aqua´ which will complement Terra with afternoon views, and after incorporating data from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) instrument