title: WhiteRef: a new tower-based hyperspectral system for continuous reflectance measurements.
abstract: Proximal sensing is fundamental to monitor the spatial and seasonal dynamics of ecosystems and can be considered as a crucial validation tool to upscale in situ observations to the satellite level. Linking hyperspectral remote sensing with carbon fluxes and biophysical parameters is critical to allow the exploitation of spatial and temporal extensive information for validating model simulations at different scales. In this study, we present the WhiteRef, a new hyperspectral system designed as a direct result of the needs identified during the EUROSPEC ES0903 Cost Action, and developed by Fondazione Edmund Mach and the Institute of Biometeorology, CNR, Italy. The system is based on the ASD FieldSpec Pro spectroradiometer and was designed to acquire continuous radiometric measurements at the Eddy Covariance (EC) towers and to fill a gap in the scientific community: in fact, no system for continuous spectral measurements in the Short Wave Infrared was tested before at the EC sites. The paper illustrates the functioning of the WhiteRef and describes its main advantages and disadvantages. The WhiteRef system, being based on a robust and high quality commercially available instrument, has a clear potential for unattended continuous measurements aiming at the validation of satellites' vegetation products.
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources Department, Research and Innovation Centre-Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy. karolina.sakowska@fmach.it.
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakowska
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources Department, Research and Innovation Centre-Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy. damiano.gianelle@fmach.it.
authors.forename: Damiano
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gianelle
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biometeorology, CNR, 50145 Firenze, Italy. a.zaldei@ibimet.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zaldei
authors.affiliation: NERC Field Spectroscopy Facility, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3JW Edinburgh, UK. alasdair.macarthur@ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alasdair
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: MacArthur
authors.affiliation: Foxlab Joint CNR-FEM Initiative, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy. a.zaldei@ibimet.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Carotenuto
authors.affiliation: Foxlab Joint CNR-FEM Initiative, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy. a.zaldei@ibimet.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miglietta
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources Department, Research and Innovation Centre-Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy. roberto.zampedri@fmach.it.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zampedri
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources Department, Research and Innovation Centre-Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy. mauro.cavagna@fmach.it.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavagna
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources Department, Research and Innovation Centre-Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy. loris.vescovo@fmach.it.
authors.forename: Loris
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vescovo
mesh_terms: D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D004560:Electricity; D008027:Light; D058998:Remote Sensing Technology / Q000379:methods*; D012621:Seasons; D014584:User-Computer Interface
chemical_list: D002734:Chlorophyll