CTCD: Dr. Mathias Disney

Dr. Mathias Disney

Background and research interests
My background is physics, with an MSc and PhD in remote sensing (both from UCL). My PhD involved examining how well simple linear models of directional reflectance (developed for the MODIS BRDF/albedo algorithm) can describe scattering from vegetation and what their limits are. My research interests lie in modelling radiative transfer in vegetation and understanding canopy scattering to understand the remote sensing signal from canopy-soil systems. In particular, I use 3D models of canopy scattering to explore the impact of structure on canopy reflectance and then try and use this understanding to improve parameter retrieval algorithms. In a carbon context the aim is to retrieve structural parameters such as biomass, canopy type, LAI, LAD etc. as well as radiometric parameters such as fAPAR and light use efficiency. I'm also interested in developing new algorithms for retrieving biophysical parameters from EO data that may be applied to new sensors or to better exploit existing ones. I am interested in the future possibilities of using multi-angular hyperspectral observations of the Earth's surface for biophysical parameter retrieval.

In the past I have worked largely with crop canopies (barley, wheat etc.) but more recently I have been looking at tree canopies (Scots pine, Sitka spruce). Within CTCD, I am interested in relating modelled canopy reflectance to measured air- and spaceborne reflectance. I am also aiming to relate the EO signal from forest canopies (and in particular the structural component). Another area of research I'm developing is the interfacing models of canopy reflectance we have within the centre to models of ecosystem function to allow assimilation of EO radiance into models of ecosystem flux.

I am based in the Geography Dept. at UCL. I was previously a lecturer in Remote Sensing at the School of Geography, Birkbeck College.

Selected publications
Disney, M. I., Lewis, P., Thackrah, G., Quaife, T., Barnsley, M. J. (2003) Comparison of MODIS broadband albedo with values derived from other EO data at a range of scales and ground measurements, over an agricultural site, accepted.

Pinty, B., N. Gobron, J.-L. Widlowski, S. A. W. Gerstl, M. M. Verstraete, M. Antunes, C. Bacour, M. I. Disney, P. Lewis, F. Gascon, J.-P. Gastellu, N. Goel, S. Jacquemoud, P. North, W. Qin, and R. Thompson (2003) 'Radiation transfer model intercomparison (RAMI) exercise II (2004) Journal of Geophys. Res. (Atmospheres), accepted.

Schaaf, C. B., Gao, F., Strahler, A. H., Lucht, W., Li, X., Tsang, T., Strugnell, N., Xiaoyang, Z., Jin, Y., Muller, J.-P., Lewis,P., Barnsley, M. J., Hobson, P. H., Disney, M. I., Roberts, G., Dunderdale, M., Doll., C., D'Entremont, R. P., Hu, B. and Liang, S., Privette, J. L. and Roy, D. (2002) First operational BBRDF, albedo nadir reflectance products from MODIS, Rem. Sens. Environ., 83:135-148.

Barnsley, M. J., Lewis, P., O' Dwyer, S., Disney, M. I., Hobson, P., Cutter, M. and Lobb, D. (2000) The potential of the CHRIS-PROBA instrument for measurement of vegetation properties from space, Rem. Sens, Rev., 19:171-189.

Disney, M. I., Lewis, P. and North, P. (2000) Monte Carlo methods in optical canopy reflectance modelling, Rem. Sens. Rev., 18:163-196.

Lewis, P., Disney, M. I., Barnsley, M. J. and Muller, J.-P. (1999) Deriving albedo maps for HAPEX-Sahel from ASAS data using kernel-driven BRDF models, Hydrol. and Earth Sys. Sci., 3(1):1-13.

For full details see my web page.

Contact details
NERC Centre for Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics
Remote Sensing Unit
Dept Geography, UCL
26 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AP
TEL: +44-(0)20-7679-4290
FAX: +44-(0)20-7679-4293
e-mail: mdisney at geog dot ucl dot ac dot uk

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