摘要:
Despite extensive global studies and analyses, accurate knowledge of aerosol optical depth, particle size, and composition remains remarkably elusive. A similar lack of accuracy also exists for the spectral characterization of land, vegetation, and ocean albedo. Both dilemmas appear to have a common cause, and a common solution - and the cause is not inadequate calibration. The problem is that both aerosol and the land surface contribute comparable amounts of scattered radiation to TOA observed intensity. In spectral intensity space, both aerosols and the land surface have relatively bland spectral signatures which are difficult to separate without making ad hoc assumptions, either about the radiative properties of the aerosol, or the spectral dependence of the surface albedo. Thanks to basic physics, polarimetric reflectivity of natural surfaces such as bare soil, vegetation, water, or snow is spectrally gray, although these surfaces do exhibit significant polarization dependence on the viewing geometry and solar illumination. This characteristic of typical surface properties can be exploited to permit accurate, and simultaneous, retrieval of aerosol radiative properties and surface albedo. We describe in-depth analyses of aerosol radiative property retrievals based on current satellite algorithms, and provide recommendations to improve remote sensing retrievals of aerosol radiative properties and land surface spectral albedo.
展开