Field reflectance of snow/ice covers at Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica

This paper studies the relationship between reflectance and physical characteristics of snow/ice surfaces in Antarctica, to support remote sensing monitoring of this environment. Field data were acquired on different targets selected at Terra Nova Bay, austral summer 1998. In each session of measurements the following data were collected: reflectance in the spectral range 350-2500 nm by a portable spectroradiometer; snow data including temperature, grain size and geometry, surface layer morphology, vertical profile of the snow pack, snow density and water content. The analysis of field data revealed that there are significant changes in surface reflectance properties, related to grain size and inclusions, and that a detailed characterization of snow metamorphosism is highly important for data interpretation. Meaningful reflectance variations were also observed after field data were re-sampled at Landsat 7 ETM spectral intervals.