Search results for "Solar zenith angle"
showing 10 items of 23 documents
Radiometric calibration of SeaWIFS in the near infrared
2005
The radiometric calibration of the Sea-Viewing Wide-Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) in the near infrared (band 8, centered on 865 nm) is evaluated by use of ground-based radiometer measurements of solar extinction and sky radiance in the Sun's principal plane at two sites, one located 13 km off Venice, Italy, and the other on the west coast of Lanai Island, Hawaii. The aerosol optical thickness determined from solar extinction is used in an iterative scheme to retrieve the pseudo aerosol phase function, i.e., the product of single-scattering albedo and phase function, in which sky radiance is corrected for multiple scattering effects. No assumption about the aerosol model is required. The ae…
Exploring the validity of the long term data record V4 database for land surface monitoring
2015
The last (and final) version of the Long Term Data Record (LTDR) — Version 4 — has been released recently by NASA. This database includes daily information for all AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) channels, as well as ancillary data, since July 1981 up to present. This database is the longest available record of remotely sensed data useful for land surface monitoring, since it allows the estimation of vegetation indices at daily resolution, as well as the daily estimation of land surface temperature (LST). Here, we analyze the fitness of this database for land surface monitoring. To that end, we first estimated NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), LST, as well as e…
Measurement-based J(NO2) sensitivity in a cloudless atmosphere under low aerosol loading and high solar zenith angle conditions
2000
Abstract The comparison between measured and simulated photodissociation frequencies of NO 2 , J( NO 2 ) , in a cloudless atmosphere in a recent paper by Fruh et al., 2000 (Journal of Geophysical Research 105, 9843–9857) revealed an overestimation of J(NO2) near ground level by model calculations compared with measurements and an underestimation in the upper part of the aerosol layer. A possible reason for the disagreement is the changing sun position during the vertical ascent. To resolve this problem we carried out a sensitivity study varying the solar zenith angle of 74° by 1.4° (which corresponds to the change of sun position during the vertical flight patterns). This results in a consi…
Exploring the Validity of the Long-Term Data Record V4 Database for Land Surface Monitoring
2016
A new version of the long-term data record (LTDR)—Version 4—has been released recently by NASA. This database includes daily information for all advanced very high resolution radiometer channels, as well as ancillary data, from July 1981 up to present. This dataset is the longest available record of remotely sensed data useful for land surface monitoring, since it allows the daily estimation of vegetation indices, as well as the estimation of land surface temperature (LST). Here, we analyze the fitness of this database for land surface monitoring, especially as regards long-term trends and their validity. To that end, we estimated normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), LST, as well …
Heating rate profiles and radiative forcing due to a dust storm in the Western Mediterranean using satellite observations
2017
Abstract We analyze the vertically-resolved radiative impact due to a dust storm in the Western Mediterranean. The dust plume travels around 3–5 km altitude and the aerosol optical depth derived by MODIS at 550 nm ranges from 0.33 to 0.52 at the overpass time (13:05 UT). The aerosol radiative forcing (ARF), forcing efficiency (FE) and heating rate profile (AHR) are determined throughout the dust trajectory in shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) ranges. To do this, we integrate different satellite observations (CALIPSO and MODIS) and detailed radiative transfer modeling. The combined (SW + LW) effect of the dust event induces a net cooling in the studied region. On average, the FE at 22.4° sola…
Simulation of Future Geostationary Ocean Color Images
2012
The objective of this work is to simulate global images that would be provided by a theoretical ocean color sensor on a geostationary orbit at longitude 0, in order to assess the range of radiance value data reaching the sensor throughout the day for 20 spectral bands similar to those of the Ocean and Land Color Imager (OLCI). The secondary objective is to assess the illumination and viewing geometries that result in sunglint. For this purpose, we combined a radiative transfer model for ocean waters (Hydrolight) and a radiative transfer model for atmosphere (MODTRAN) to construct the simulated radiance images at the sea surface and at the Top-Of-Atmosphere (TOA). Bio-optical data from GlobC…
Effective cloud optical depth and enhancement effects for broken liquid water clouds in Valencia (Spain)
2017
Partly cloudy skies with liquid water clouds have been analysed, founding that it is essential to distinguish data if the Sun is obstructed or not by clouds. Both cases can be separated considering simultaneously the Cloud Modification Factor (CMF) and the clearness index (kt). For partly cloudy skies and the Sun obstructed the effective cloud optical depth (τ) has been obtained by the minimization method for overcast skies. This method was previously developed by the authors but, in this case, taking into account partial cloud cover. This study has been conducted for the years 2011–2015 with the multiple scattering model SBDART and irradiance measurements for the UV Erythemal Radiation (UV…
Simulation of a biomass-burning plume: Comparison of model results with observations
2002
[1] We have simulated the dynamical evolution of the plume from a prescribed biomass fire, using the active tracer high- resolution atmospheric model (ATHAM). Initialization parameters were set to reflect the conditions during the fire. The model results are compared with airborne remote-sensing and in situ measurements of the plume. ATHAM reproduces the injection height (250-600 m) and the horizontal extent of the plume (similar to4 km) with good accuracy. The aerosol mass concentrations are underestimated but still in the range of the observations. Remaining differences between the model results and the measurements are attributed to limited meteorological and fire emission information. A…
Altitude effect in UV radiation during the Evaluation of the Effects of Elevation and Aerosols on the Ultraviolet Radiation 2002 (VELETA-2002) field …
2008
[1] The Evaluation of the Effects of Elevation and Aerosols on the Ultraviolet Radiation 2002 (VELETA-2002) field campaign was designed to study the influence of aerosols and altitude on solar UV irradiance. The altitude effect (AE) was evaluated for UV irradiance under cloudless conditions by taking spectral and broadband measurements in SE Spain in the summer of 2002 at three nearby sites located at different heights (680 m, 2200 m, and 3398 m). A spectral radiative transfer model (Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART)) was also applied, mainly to evaluate the tropospheric ozone impact on AE. Results are related to the optical properties and air mass origin of the a…
Three-dimensional solar radiation effects on the actinic flux field in a biomass-burning plume
2003
[1] Three-dimensional (3-D) solar radiative transfer models describe radiative transfer under inhomogeneous atmospheric conditions more accurately than the commonly used one-dimensional (1-D) radiative transfer models that assume horizontal homogeneity of the atmosphere. Here results of 3-D radiative transfer simulations for a biomass-burning plume are presented and compared with local one-dimensional (l-1-D) simulations, i.e., 1-D simulations in every column of the model domain. The spatial distribution of the aerosol particles was derived from a 3-D atmospheric transport simulation. We studied the impact of 3-D radiative effects on the actinic flux within the plume center. The differences…