Abstract
Abstract. An important new challenge in the field of multi-angle photo-polarimetric satellite remote sensing is the retrieval of aerosol properties under cloudy conditions. In this paper the possibility has been explored to perform a simultaneous retrieval of aerosol and cloud properties for partly cloudy scenes and for fully cloudy scenes where the aerosol layer is located above the cloud, using multi-angle photo-polarimetric measurements. Also, for clear sky conditions a review is given of the capabilities of multi-angle photo-polarimetric measurements in comparison with other measurement types. It is shown that already for clear sky conditions polarization measurements are highly important for the retrieval of aerosol optical and microphysical properties over land surfaces with unknown reflection properties. Furthermore, it is shown that multi-angle photo-polarimetric measurements have the capability to distinguish between aerosols and clouds, and thus facilitate a simultaneous retrieval of aerosol and cloud properties. High accuracy (0.002–0.004) of the polarimetric measurements plays an essential role here.
Highlights
Anthropogenic aerosols are believed to cause the second most important anthropogenic forcing of climate change after greenhouse gases
The aim of this paper is to explore the possibilities to perform a simultaneous retrieval of aerosol and cloud properties for situations with an aerosol layer located below a broken cloud field, and for situations with an elevated aerosol layer above a homogeneous low level cloud field
For clear sky conditions a review has been given of the capabilities of multi-angle photopolarimetric measurements in comparison to other instrument types, demonstrating that already for clear sky conditions polarization measurements are highly important for the retrieval of aerosol optical and microphysical properties over land surfaces with unknown reflection properties
Summary
Anthropogenic aerosols are believed to cause the second most important anthropogenic forcing of climate change after greenhouse gases. Accurate information on aerosol size and refractive index (related to chemical composition of aerosols and absorption) is needed to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic aerosols and to distinguish between aerosol effects on cloud formation and apparent relationships due to humidity and meteorology effects. Another problem with current satellite aerosol products is that they are affected by residual cloud contamination due to imperfect cloud screening. Waquet et al (2009b) demonstrated the capability of PARASOL polarimetric measurements to retrieve Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) under the latter condition Their retrieval is based on a number of pre-described aerosol size distributions and a fixed refractive index representative for their specific case study.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
