Footprint

From Glossary of Meteorology



footprint

  1. In micrometeorology, the region of ground that affects a turbulent flux measurement above the surface.

    Also known as the source-weight distribution function, the footprint can figuratively be described as the ensemble average field-of-view of a turbulent flux measurement. The footprint function is derived from a suitable model of turbulent transport. Alternately, an analogous footprint can be defined for scalar concentrations or for radiative fluxes.

  2. In remote sensing, the instantaneous field-of-view of an airborne remote sensing instrument.


Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact permissions@ametsoc.org. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.