Discussion:
One concept that can be explored with the data is how effective 1 kilometer resolution is for measuring local albedo. If this resolution is sufficient, then forest cover of different types should exhibit unique activity. For the visible spectrum, the data seemed to behave as it should for deciduous forest cover, exhibiting a much larger range of albedo than evergreen and indicating that 1 kilometer resolution was sufficient to capture their different characteristics. The annual median albedo was a higher value for deciduous forest cover also, which is most likely just a function of the leaf reflectivity of the particular deciduous species found in North Carolina. The shortwave spectrum exhibited the same characteristics, but there were no clear trends found with the near infrared spectrum.
While the 1 kilometer resolution albedo data was able to extract consistently different seasonal trends for surface albedo, it will be interesting to see if the same trends will be found in the 500 meter resolution data. With the progression of technology and the higher degrees of resolution that will be obtained with remote sensing, it is important to investigate how high of a resolution is truly necessary for the accuracy needed. Currently, such data needs to be more accurate than what is available because climate models do not yet mimic the real world since their correctness is limited by the accuracy of their inputs. Yet at some point a higher resolution will not be needed, much in the same way that in computer modeling simplified polynomials are used to describe complex phenomena and not equations that describe them on a micro scale. Numerical models all have some degree of inherent inaccuracy; the question is how exact does the results need to be in order to be useful.