Developing a Broad Spectrum Atmospheric Aerosol Characterization for Remote Sensing Platforms over Desert Regions

摘要

Remotely sensed imagery of targets embedded in Earth's atmosphere requires characterization of aerosols between the space-borne sensor and ground to accurately analyze observed target signatures. The impact of aerosol microphysical properties on retrieved atmospheric radiances has been shown to negatively affect the accuracy of remotely sensed data collects. Temporally and regionally specific meteorological conditions require exact site atmospheric characterization, involving extensive and timely observations. We present a novel methodology which fuses White Sands New Mexico regional aerosol micro pulse lidar (MPL) observations with sun photometer direct and diffuse products for broad-wavelength (visible - longwave infrared) input into the radiative transfer model MODTRAN5. Resulting radiances are compared with those retreived from the NASA Aqua MODIS instrument.