In this paper we will discuss two uses of BRDFs in remote sensing: （1） in determining the clear sky top of the atmosphere （TOA） albedo

（2） in quantifying the effect of the BRDF on the adjacency pointspread function and on atmospheric corrections. The TOA spectral albedo is an important parameter retrieved by the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer （MISR）. Its accuracy depends mainly on how well we can model the surface BRDF for many different situations. We will present results from an algorithm which matches several semiempirical functions to the nine MISR measured BRFs that are then numerically integrated to yield the clear sky TOA spectral albedo in four spectral channels. We show that absolute accuracies in the albedo of better than 1 % are possible for the visible and better than 2 % in the near infrared channels. Using a simplified extensive radiosity model

we will show that the shape of the adjacency pointspread function （PSF） depends on the underlying surface BRDFs. The adjacency pointspread function at a given offset （x

y） from the center pixel is given by the integral of transmissionweighted products of BRDF and scattering phase function along the line of sight. 