New Satellite Measurements of Aerosol Direct Radiative Forcing from MODIS, MISR, and POLDER

New set of satellites, MODIS and MISR launched on EOS-Terra and POLDER launched on ADEOS-1, and scheduled for ADEOS-II and PARASOL in orbit with EOS-AQUA, open exciting opportunities to measure aerosol and their radiative forcing of climate. Each of these instruments has a different approach to invert remote sensing data to derive the aerosol properties. MODIS is using wide spectral range 0.47-2.1 micron. MISR is using narrower spectral range (0.44 to 0.87 micron) but observing the same spot from 9 different angles along the satellite track. POLDER using similar wavelengths, uses two dimensional view with a wide angle optics and adds polarization to the inversion process. Among these instruments, we expect to measure the global distribution of aerosol, to distinguish small pollution particles from large particles from deserts and ocean spray. We shall try to measure the aerosol absorption of solar radiation, and their refractive index that indicates the effect of liquid water on the aerosol size and interaction with sunlight. The radiation field measured by these instruments in variety of wavelengths and angles, is also used to derive the effect of the aerosol on reflection of sunlight spectral fluxes to space. When combined with flux measurements at the ground, it gives a complete characterization of the effect of aerosol on solar illumination, heating in the atmosphere and reflection to space.