Time series of urban radiative budget maps derived from EO satellites using a physical remote sensing model

Models that simulate the radiative budget (RB) and remote sensing (RS) observation of landscapes with physical approaches and consideration of the three-dimensional (3-D) architecture of Earth surfaces are increasingly needed to better understand the life-essential cycles and processes of our planet and to further develop RS technology. DART (Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer) is one of the most comprehensive physically based 3-D models of Earth-atmosphere optical radiative transfer (RT), from ultraviolet to thermal infrared. It simulates the optical 3-D RB and signal of proximal, aerial and satellite imaging spectrometers and laser scanners, for any urban and/or natural landscapes and for any experimental and instrumental configurations. It is freely available for research and teaching activities. Here, an application is presented after a summary of its theory and recent advances: inversion of Sentinel 2 images for simulating time series of urban radiative budget QV maps through the determination of maps of urban surface material. Results are very encouraging: satellite and in-situ Qsiv are very close (RMSE » 15 W/m2; i.e. 2.7% mean relative difference).