Modeling angular-dependent spectral emissivity of snow and ice in the thermal infrared atmospheric window.

A model of angular-dependent emissivity spectra of snow and ice in the 8-14 μm atmospheric window is constructed. Past field research revealed that snow emissivity varies depending on snow grain size and the exitance angle. Thermography images acquired in this study further revealed that not only welded snow particles such as sun crust, but also disaggregated particles such as granular snow and dendrite crystals exhibit high reflectivity on their crystal facets, even when the bulk snow surface exhibits blackbody-like behavior as a whole.