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Analysis of Fine-Mode Aerosol Retrieval Capabilities by Different Passive Remote Sensing Instrument DesignsRemote sensing of aerosol optical properties is difficult, but multi-angle, multi-spectral, polarimetric instruments have the potential to retrieve sufficient information about aerosols that they can be used to improve global climate models. However, the complexity of these instruments means that it is difficult to intuitively understand the relationship between instrument design and retrieval success. We apply a Bayesian statistical technique that relates instrument characteristics to the information contained in an observation. Using realistic simulations of fine size mode dominated spherical aerosols, we investigate three instrument designs. Two of these represent instruments currently in orbit: the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) and the POLarization and Directionality of the Earths Reflectances (POLDER). The third is the Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS), which failed to reach orbit during recent launch, but represents a viable design for future instruments. The results show fundamental differences between the three, and offer suggestions for future instrument design and the optimal retrieval strategy for current instruments. Generally, our results agree with previous validation efforts of POLDER and airborne prototypes of APS, but show that the MISR aerosol optical thickness uncertainty characterization is possibly underestimated.
Document ID
20120015701
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Knobelspiesse, Kirk
(Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Cairns, Brian
(NASA Goddard Inst. for Space Studies New York, NY, United States)
Mishchenko, Michael
(NASA Goddard Inst. for Space Studies New York, NY, United States)
Chowdhary, Jacek
(Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Tsigaridis, Kostas
(Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
van Diedenhoven, Bastiaan
(Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Martin, William
(Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Ottaviani, Matteo
(Stevens Inst. of Tech. Hoboken, NJ, United States)
Alexandrov, Mikhail
(Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Date Acquired
August 26, 2013
Publication Date
September 4, 2012
Publication Information
Publication: Optics Express
Publisher: Optical Society of America
Volume: 20
Issue: 19
Subject Category
Optics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.JA.7129.2012
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX10AN85H
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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