Why is the LAI output divided by 3

[SOWITMA]

Hello,

Looking at the code I was wondering what was the rational of divided the LAI output by 3 ?

var lai = denormalize(l2, 0.000319182538301, 14.4675094548151);
return {
default: [lai / 3]
}

Thanks for your input,
Best
HB

[MonjaSebela]

Dear HB,

I believe the output is divided by 3 to decrease the brightness of the output and thus display more visual information. If you remove the division from the script, you will see the result to be a bit too bright with much less visual information. Multiplying with larger or lower values is a common practice in custom scripts. We often multiply the bands in true color composites with 2.5 to increase the brightness, and here, dividing with 3 is the same as multiplying with 0.3333333, which will decrease the gain of the final output.

Here is a link to LAI in EO Browser, where you can try to edit the script (the output divided by 3 is at the end) and see what happens.

Best,
Monja

[SOWITMA]

Thanks for your detailed answer.

Best Regards,
HB