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Computation of the Effects of Inhomogeneous Clouds on Retrieval of Remotely Sensed PropertiesCurrent and future earth observation programs depend on satellite measurements of radiance to retrieve the properties of clouds on a global basis. At present, this retrieval is made assuming that the clouds in the instrument field of view are plane parallel and independent of adjacent pixels. While this assumption is known to be false except in very limited cases, its impact can be evaluated, and if possible corrected, based on emerging theoretical techniques. In this study, the Spherical Harmonic Discrete Ordinate Method (SHDOM, Evans, 1996) has been used to assess the sensitivity of the retrieval to a variety of cloud parameters. SHDOM allows the plane parallel assumption to be relaxed and makes 2D and even 3D radiative solutions practical. A previous study (Chambers et al., 1996) assessed the effect of horizontal inhomogeneity in 45 LANDSAT scenes of boundary layer clouds over ocean. The four scenes studied here represent overcast, broken, scattered and strongly thermally forced cloud fields and are used to perform sensitivity studies to a wider variety of parameters. Comparisons are made at three solar zenith angles (theta (sub 0) = 0, 49, and 63 degrees) to avoid ambiguity in the results due to solar zenith angle.
Document ID
20040100730
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Other
Authors
Chambers, Lin H.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1998
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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