A quantification of errors in surface albedo due to common assumptions

A study comparing the performance of three approaches to estimating the spectral albedo of a typical land surface is presented. The most accurate albedo estimates under all atmospheric situations are those for which the scattering properties of the atmosphere can be used. Simply utilizing the direct-to-total ratio as a weight between direct and Lambertian albedos reduced the errors in broadband albedo to less than one percent for almost all simulated atmospheric conditions.