Remote Sensing of Water Vapor and Thin Cirrus Clouds using MODIS Near-IR Channels

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), a major facility instrument on board the Terra Spacecraft, was successfully launched into space in December of 1999. MODIS has several near-IR channels within and around the 0.94 micrometer water vapor bands for remote sensing of integrated atmospheric water vapor over land and above clouds. MODIS also has a special near-IR channel centered at 1.375-micron with a width of 30 nm for remote sensing of cirrus clouds. In this paper, we describe briefly the physical principles on remote sensing of water vapor and cirrus clouds using these channels. We also present sample water vapor images and cirrus cloud images obtained from MODIS data.