0000000000358836

AUTHOR

Rainer Hollmann

A Cloud masking algorithm for the XBAER aerosol retrieval using MERIS data

Abstract To determine aerosol optical thickness, AOT, and other geophysical parameters describing conditions in the atmosphere and at the earth's surface by inversion of remote sensing measurements from space based instrumentation, it is necessary to separate ground scenes into cloud free and cloudy or cloud contaminated. Identifying the presence of cloud in a ground scene and establishing an accurate and adequate cloud mask is a challenging task. In this study, measurements by the European Space Agency (ESA) MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) have been used to develop a cloud identification and cloud mask algorithm for preprocessing prior to application of the new algorithm cal…

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The surface shortwave net flux from the scanner for radiation budget (SCARAB)

Abstract Shortwave surface net radiation is usually determined by combining the measurement of insolation with an independent estimate of surface albedo. However, uncertainties associated with each of these quantities may lead to large errors in the value of net surface solar radiation. An alternative approach is to deduce the net solar flux (the term flux is used here as the radiometric quantity flux density) at the surface directly from the budget at the top of the atmosphere, without explicit knowledge of surface albedo. The Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring is a joint project of the German Meteorological Service and other European Meteorological Services dedicated to …

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