Premium
Multi‐sensor satellite remote sensing of dust aerosols over North Africa during GERBILS
Author(s) -
Christopher Sundar A.,
Gupta Pawan,
Johnson Ben,
Ansell Catherine,
Brindley Helen,
Haywood Jim
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.863
Subject(s) - aeronet , satellite , environmental science , spectroradiometer , remote sensing , meteorology , aerosol , moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer , geography , reflectivity , physics , optics , aerospace engineering , engineering
In this paper we provide an overview of various satellite products over the Sahara Desert that were available during the GERBILS field campaign. Our results indicate that all mid‐visible satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) products match well with AERONET retrievals. For low AOD (AOD < 1), the satellite AODs compare well with aircraft AOD values but they tend to underestimate at high AOD values. We then assessed the satellite products in 0.5 × 0.5 degree grids for the entire study region (10–30°N and 20°W–10°E). If we use a multi‐angle imaging spectroradiometer (MISR) as a benchmark for AOD retrievals over bright targets, the estimated AOD derived from the ozone‐monitoring instrument aerosol index–MISR relationship performs best when compared with MISR for the entire study region. Although differences exist among satellite products, the advancement in satellite retrieval techniques now provide AOD retrievals over bright targets such as deserts, which are useful for numerical modeling simulation comparisons and other studies. Furthermore, the in situ information from aircraft and the ground continue to provide valuable information for validating satellite products and for assessing their strengths and weaknesses. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society and British Crown Copyright, theMet Office