| Note |
Snow cover extent is mapped daily in near-real time for the northern hemisphere with a geometric resolution of 0.01deg x 0.01deg per pixel, based on optical satellite data from Level 1B calibrated radiances of Suomi-NPP VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite).
Main elements are:
Snow classification is applied on top-of-atmosphere reflectance of visible and mid-infrared bands, and brightness temperatures of thermal infrared bands to get the daily fractional snow cover extent per pixel. A canopy correction is applied to provide snow cover extent on the ground in forested areas, and clouds, water bodies, polar night and missing data pixels are flagged. |