Atmospheric correction of high resolution land surface images

Algorithms to correct for atmospheric-scattering effects in high-spatial resolution land-surface images require the ability to perform rapid and accurate computations of the top-of-atmosphere diffuse radiance field for arbitrarily general surface reflectance distributions (which may be both heterogeneous and non-Lambertian) and atmospheric models. Using three-dimensional radiative transfer (3DRT) theory algorithms are being developed. The methodology used to perform the 3DRT calculations is described. It is shown how these calculations are used to perform atmospheric corrections, and the sensitivity of the retrieved surface reflectances to atmospheric structural parameters is illustrated.