Integrated Terrain Analysis Program Field Equipment

Visual Surface Roughness Look-up Table for PI-SWERL Measurements

Below is a database of surface roughness of emissive desert landforms. The surface roughness parameter, alpha (α), has been calculated directly from a high-resolution microtopographic Digital Elevation Model. Visual comparison of high-resolution images alongside calculated α values are compiled here for commonly encountered field surfaces. These are presented as a new look-up table for assigning α values to field surfaces for correcting PI-SWERL measurements for surface roughness, expanding on the look-up table of Etyemezian et al. (2014). Consistent visual comparison to these surfaces when assigning alpha will remove some of the subjectivity in assigning α values, further constraining an important source of error that exists in current PI-SWERL methodology.

Any use of this database should be cited as follows:
Hartshorn, E., Sion, B., Sweeney, M., and McDonald, E., revised 2023, Visual Surface Roughness Look-up Table for PI-SWERL Measurements, https://www.dri.edu/itap/PI-SWERL-Roughness

Any questions should be directed towards Evan.Hartshorn@dri.edu

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