Atmospheric correction of high-resolution satellite imagery for quantitative retrieval of biophysical parameters

There is an increased trend to acquire high-resolution satellite imagery for a variety of applications. To estimate land surface biophysical variables accurately, atmospheric correction is a necessary step. The heterogeneous distributions of surface cover types and aerosols in the atmosphere require three-dimensional (3D) radiative transfer modeling, which is computationally prohibitive for a quick correction of satellite imagery. The authors developed the procedures and simplified formulae for estimating the aerosol optical depth, calculating the surface and atmospheric adjacency effects, and inverting surface reflectance.