Go to top
European Commission logo
English
RAMI website

Format for RAMI-V

RAMI-V phase

To facilitate the intercomparison of the submitted result files, the RAMI file-naming and formatting conventions outlined on this webpage must be adhered to.

Output file naming convention for RAMI-V phase

In RAMI V each individual experiment <EXP> is defined as the combination of the structural description of the scene (which will be summarised using three fields in the output filename: <SCENE>_<TAG1>_<TAG2>), its spectral properties ( _<BAND> ), the illumination geometry ( _<ILLUMINATION> ), and the measurements ( -<meas> ) to be performed (note the dash "" is used here as separator instead of the underscore "_" ).



Each participant is asked to mark his/her submitted file with the _<model> tag, for identification purposes.

Then the submitted filenames should assume the following form:

<EXP>_<model>.mes

or, more explicitly:

<TESTCASE>-<meas>_<model>.mes

<SCENE>_<TAG1>_<TAG2>_<BAND>_<ILLUMINATION>-<meas>_<model>.mes

We have kept the concept of <TESTCASE> to uniquely identify the virtual environment, including its structural description, spectral properties and illumination geometry, in which the measurement is performed. In other words, for a unique scene (<SCENE>_<TAG1>_<TAG2>), the different spectral properties and illumination geometries, define different testcases.

<TESTCASE> fields are in capitals, wheras <meas> and <model> are in lowercase.


An example of the <TESTCASE>-<meas>_<model>.mes filenaming scheme is "HET01_DIS_UNI_O17_z50a000-brfop_raytran.mes", where:

  • <TESTCASE> uniquely identifies the scene flavor "HET01_DIS_UNI_O17_z50a000";
  • the measurement identifier <meas> is "brfop";
  • the model identifier <model> is "raytran";

All tags should be defined in the submitted filenames.

The identifier UND should be used where a value is undefined.
<model> length should be composed of a maximum of 10 characters (including [a-b][0-9] - ).
A summary of all allowed measurement and test-case identifiers is presented in the tables below:

List of permissible <SCENES>

List of the thirty eight RAMI-5 scenes, 0-29 are the thirty Abstract scenes, 30-37 the eight Actual canopies.

  <SCENE> identifier tag (<SCENE>_<TAG1>_<TAG2>)
0 HET10_DIS_S1A
1 HET11_DIS_S1B
2 HET12_DIS_S1C
3 HET16_DIS_S2S
4 HET17_DIS_M2S
5 HET18_DIS_D2S
6 HET20_DIS_D1A
7 HET21_DIS_D1B
8 HET22_DIS_D1C
9 HET23_DIS_S15
10 HET24_DIS_D15
11 HET26_DIS_S2D
12 HET27_DIS_M2D
13 HET28_DIS_D2D
14 HET33_DIS_S30
15 HET34_DIS_D30
16 HOM23_DIS_P1A
17 HOM24_DIS_P1B
18 HOM25_DIS_P1C
19 HOM26_DIS_EPD
20 HOM27_DIS_EPM
21 HOM28_DIS_EPS
22 HOM29_DIS_EM0
23 HOM30_DIS_ED0
24 HOM33_DIS_E1A
25 HOM34_DIS_E1B
26 HOM35_DIS_E1C
27 HOM36_DIS_PED
28 HOM37_DIS_PEM
29 HOM38_DIS_PES
30 HET07_JPS_SUM
31 HET08_OPS_WIN
32 HET09_JBS_SUM
33 HET14_WCO_UND
34 HET15_JBS_WIN
35 HET16_SRF_UND
36 HET50_SAV_PRE
37 HET51_WWO_TLS

List of permissible <TAGS>

<SCENE> identifier tag Tag meaning
HOM**HOMogeneous case
HET**HETerogeneous case

<TAG1> identifier tag Tag meaning
DIS DIScrete scatterers
JBS Jaervselja Birch Stand
JPS Jaervselja Pine Stand
OPS Ofenpass Pine Stand
SAV Savanna
SRF Short Rotation Forest
WCO Wellington Citrus Orchard
WWO Whythan wood

<TAG2> identifier tag Tag meaning
S1A sparse overstorey, A (soil, RPV4_) surface properties
S1B sparse overstorey, B (snow, RPV8_) surface properties
S1C sparse overstorey, C (understorey vegetation, RPVS_) surface properties
D1A dense overstorey, A (soil, RPV4_) surface properties
D1B dense overstorey, B (snow, RPV8_) surface properties
D1C dense overstorey, C (understorey vegetation, RPVS_) surface properties
S2S sparse overstorey, sparse understories density
M2S medium overstorey, sparse understories density
D2S dense overstorey, sparse understories density
S2D sparse overstorey, dense understories density
M2D medium overstorey, dense understories density
D2D dense overstorey, dense understories density
S15 sparse tree density, 15° tree inclination
D15 dense tree density, 15° tree inclination
S30 sparse tree density, 30° tree inclination
D30 dense tree density, 30° tree inclination
P1A planophile leaf distribution, A (soil, RPV4_) surface reflectance
P1B planophile leaf distribution, B (snow, RPV8_) surface reflectance
P1C planophile leaf distribution, C (understorey vegetation, RPVS_) surface reflectance
E1A erectophile leaf distribution, A surface reflectance
E1B erectophile leaf distribution, B surface reflectance
E1C erectophile leaf distribution, C surface reflectance
EPD erectophile sparse overstorey, planophile dense understorey
EPM erectophile sparse overstorey, planophile medium understorey
EPS erectophile sparse overstorey, planophile sparse understorey
PED planophile sparse overstorey, planophile dense understorey
PEM planophile sparse overstorey, planophile medium understorey
PES planophile sparse overstorey, planophile sparse understorey
EM0 erectophile medium (density)
ED0 erectophile dense
UND undefined scene
SUM SUMmer scenario
WIN WINter scenario
PRE pre-fire structural
TLS Terrestrial laser scanning data

<BAND> identifier tag Tag meaning
O03 spectral OLCI band 03
O04 spectral OLCI band 04
O06 spectral OLCI band 06
O08 spectral OLCI band 08
O10 spectral OLCI band 10
O11 spectral OLCI band 11
O12 spectral OLCI band 12
O17 spectral OLCI band 17
M08 spectral MSI band 08
M11 spectral MSI band 11
M12 spectral MSI band 12
MD5 spectral MODIS band 05
MD7 spectral MODIS band 07

<ILLUMINATION> identifier tag Tag meaning
z00a000Value of the solar zenith
and azimuth angle in degrees
DIFFUSEDiffuse

RAMI-V spectral bands

In Rami-V the spectral bands are selected in order to mimic a selection of similar bands from the European Copernicus optical missions Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI), Sentinel-2 Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) and the NASA Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Table 1 shows the correspondence of several bands and the selections made for RAMI-V are highlighted in the last column. OLCI bands are labelled as Oxx, MSI bands as Mxx and MODIS bands as MDx. They should be used to complete the experiment name as described in the naming conventions page.

Table 1: The RAMI-V band selection criteria based on the equivalence/complementariety of OLCI, MSI and MODIS spectral bands.

  OLCI $\lambda_c$ (nm) MSI $\lambda_c$ (nm) MODIS $\Delta \lambda$ (nm) RAMI-V
1 O03 442.5 M01 443 MD3 459-479 O03
2 O04 490 M02 490     O04
3 O06 560 M03 560 MD4 545-565 O06
4 O08 665 M04 665 MD1 620-670 O08
5 O10 681.25         O10
6 O11 708.75 M05 705     O11
7 O12 753.75 M06 740     O12
8     M08 842     M08
9 O17 865 M8a 865 MD2 840-876 O17
10         MD5 1230-1250 MD5
11     M11 1610 MD6 1630-1650 M11
12         MD7 2105-2155 MD7*
13     M12 2202     M12*

The spectral response of the bands for selected hectometric spatial resolution instruments in the visible and near-infrared domain.
The spectral response of the bands for selected hectometric spatial resolution instruments in the visible and near-infrared domain.
The spectral response of the bands for selected decametric spatial resolution instruments in the visible and near-infrared domain.
The spectral response of the bands for selected decametric spatial resolution instruments in the visible and near-infrared domain.

To calculate the spectral properties for each band we performed the convolution of the extraterrestrial solar spectrum $S_{0\lambda}$ with the spectral response of the sensor $R(\lambda)$ and the reflectance spectrum of soil, leaf or trunks $\rho(\lambda)$, accordingly to the equation

$$X= \frac {\int_0^\infty S_{0\lambda} R(\lambda) \rho(\lambda) d\lambda}{\int_0^\infty S_{0\lambda} R(\lambda) d\lambda},$$ and provided in specific files for each scene.

List of permissible <meas>

<meas> Identifier tag Tag meaning
bhr Isotropic Bihemispherical Reflectance (White Sky Albedo)
brf_sat Satellite BRF for selected geometries
brfazim BRF in azimuthal ring (total)
brfop BRF in the cross plane (perpendicular to the principal plane)
brfop_co_sgl BRF in the cross plane for single-scattered radiation
brfop_mlt BRF in the cross plane for multiple-scattered (two or more scattering events) radiation
brfop_uc_sgl BRF in the cross plane for single-scattered radiation collided by the soil
brfpp BRF in the principal plane (total)
brfpp_co_sgl BRF in the principal plane for single-scattered radiation
brfpp_mlt BRF in the principal plane for multiple-scattered (two or more scattering events) radiation
brfpp_uc_sgl BRF in the principal plane for single-scattered radiation collided by the soil
dhr Directional Hemispherical Reflectance (Black Sky Albedo)
fabs_fol Foliage absorption
fabs_tot Total canopy absorption (foliage and wood)
ftran_coco Collided by canopy only transmission at lower boundary level
ftran_loc Local uncollided transmission at lower boundary for direct illumination from finitesized sun
ftran_tot Total transmission at lower boundary level
ftran_tot_vprof Vertical profile of total transmission through canopy
ftran_uc Uncollided transmission at lower boundary level
thp Thresholded hemispherical photograph (binary fisheye image)

Listo of <MEAS> tags of previous RAMI phases
<meas> Identifier tag Tag meaning
bhr_iso Isotropic Bihemispherical Reflectance (White Sky Albedo)
ftran_tot_dir Total transmission at lower boundary level for direct illumination only
ftran_uc_dir Uncollided transmission at lower boundary level for direct illumination only
ftran_coco_dir Collided by canopy only transmission at lower boundary level for direct illumination only
ftran_tot_iso Total transmission at lower boundary level for diffuse illumination only
ftran_uc_iso Uncollided transmission at lower boundary level for diffuse illumination only
ftran_coco_iso Collided by canopy only transmission at lower boundary level for diffuse illumination only
ftran_dir_loc Local uncollided transmission at lower boundary for direct illumination from finitesized sun
lidar_tot Total waveform LIDAR return signal
lidar_co_sgl Single collided waveform LIDAR return signal

RT model identifier tags for RAMI <model>

The RT model identifier tag is the 'name' of the model that was used to perform the RT simulations contained within the measurement results file. RT models names should be one single string containing only alphanumeric characters. The names of the RT model that participated in the RAMI activity so far can be found in the appropriate pages of the individual RAMI phases. RT models that remain unchanged between successive RAMI phases keep their <MOD> identifier tags; models that have been upgraded or modified from a previously participating version obtain a numerical ending, e.g., sprint in phase 1 became sprint2 in phase 2 of the RAMI initiative.