Notes about the creation of the IGBP scene type map shown here.
1.
It is important at this point to explain how the map is derived
from the 1km data. It is not simply the maximum of a histogram of the IGBP scene types within a 10' box. Since SARB is trying to determine the radiative properties beneath a CERES footprint, the scene type shown on this map is determined based on primary reflector within the 10' box. The process goes as follows:
First - Each scene type is assigned a broadband albedo.
Second - An average of the 1km albedos within a 10' box is determined.
Third - This average is then compared to the original albedos and the scene
type is determined as the closest matching albedo.
Thus, the dominant 1km scene type within a 10' box is not always chosen
as representative of that particular box. It was found that this occured in
about 8% of the 10' boxes, but that in general, the dominant scene type is chosen.
2.
Along coastal regions, we use 10% water as a cut off for land. Since we have a similar water percentage map, it was decided that when there is both land and
water in a 10' box it is more important to know the land type even if only 11% of the total scene within the grid box is land. The end result is that the continents expand slightly. With the water percentage map as a companion however the actual amount of coast can be easily checked.
3.
The difference between our scene type map and one using the most common scene within a 10' box
can be found 
