ALBERT

Description: Comparison of observations of radio recombination lines in the interstellar medium with theoretical models can be used to constrain electron temperature and density of the gas. An important component of the models is spontaneous transition rates between bound levels. Calculating these rates relies on accurate bound–bound oscillator strengths, which can be cast in terms of the Gaunt factor. The Gaunt factor contains terminating hypergeometric functions that cannot be calculated with sufficient accuracy for high quantum levels ( n 50) by standard machine-precision methods. Methods to overcome the accuracy problem have been developed, which include asymptotic expansions and recursion relations. These methods, used in astrophysical models to calculate oscillator strengths, can introduce errors, sometimes up to as much as ~8 per cent. Detections of radio recombination lines with the new Low Frequency Array have prompted an examination of theoretical models of the interstellar medium. We revisit the calculation of the Gaunt factor, employing modern arbitrary-precision computational methods to tabulate the Gaunt factor for transitions up to quantum level n  = 2000, sufficient to model low-frequency carbon radio recombination lines. The calculations provide a relative error of ~3 10 –4 when compared to more detailed calculations including relativistic corrections. Our values for the Gaunt factor are provided for download in a tabular format to be used for a wide range of applications.

Description: In this paper, the use of a neural network algorithm for the retrieval of the aerosol properties from ground-based spectropolarimetric measurements is discussed. The neural network is able to retrieve the aerosol properties with an accuracy that is almost comparable to that of an iterative retrieval. By using the outcome of the neural network as a first guess of the iterative retrieval scheme, the accuracy of the fine and coarse mode optical thickness are further improved while for the other parameters the improvement is small or absent. The resulting scheme (neural network + iterative retrieval) is compared to the original one (look-up table + iterative retrieval) on a set of simulated ground-based measurements, and on a small set of real observations carried out by an accurate ground-based spectropolarimeter. The results show that the use of a neural network based first guess leads to an increase in the number of converging retrievals, and possibly to more accurate estimates of the aerosol effective radius and complex refractive index.

Description: An optimization approach has been developed for simultaneous retrieval of aerosol properties and normalized water-leaving radiance (nLw) from multi-spectral, multi-angular, and polarimetric observations over ocean. The main features of the method are (1) use of a simplified bio-optical model to estimate nLw followed by an empirical refinement within a specified range to improve its accuracy; (2) improved algorithm convergence and stability by applying constraints on the spatial smoothness of aerosol loading and Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration across neighboring image patches and spectral constraints on aerosol optical properties and on nLw across relevant bands; and (3) enhanced Jacobian calculation by modeling and storing the radiative transfer (RT) in aerosol/Rayleigh mixed layer, pure Rayleigh scattering layers, and ocean medium separately and then coupling them to calculate the field at the sensor. This approach avoids unnecessary and time-consuming recalculations of RT in unperturbed layers in Jacobian evaluations. The Markov chain method is used to model RT in the aerosol/Rayleigh mixed layer and the doubling method is used for the uniform layers of the atmosphere-ocean system. Our optimization approach has been tested using radiance and polarization measurements acquired by the Airborne Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI) over the AERONET USC_SeaPRISM ocean site (6 February 2013) and near the AERONET La Jolla site (14 January 2013), which respectively reported relatively high and low aerosol loadings. Validation of the results is achieved through comparisons to AERONET aerosol and ocean color products and retrievals performed using the Generalized Retrieval of Aerosol and Surface Properties algorithm (Dubovik et al., 2011) on AirMSPI data. Uncertainties of aerosol and nLw retrievals due to random and systematic instrument errors are analyzed by truth-in/truth-out tests with three Chl-a concentrations, five aerosol loadings, three different types of aerosols, and nine combinations of solar incidence and viewing geometries.

Description: We present a comprehensive model that can be employed to describe and correct for degradation of (scan) mirrors and diffusers in satellite instruments that suffer from changing optical Ultraviolet to visible (UV–VIS) properties during their operational lifetime. As trend studies become more important, so does the importance of understanding and correcting for this degradation. This is the case not only with respect to the transmission of the optical components, but also with respect to wavelength, polarisation, or scan-angle effects. Our hypothesis is that mirrors in flight suffer from the deposition of a thin absorbing layer of contaminant, which slowly builds up over time. We describe this with the Mueller matrix formalism and Fresnel equations for thin multi-layer contamination films. Special care is taken to avoid the confusion often present in earlier publications concerning the Mueller matrix calculus with out-of-plane reflections. The method can be applied to any UV–VIS satellite instrument. We illustrate and verify our approach to the optical behaviour of the multiple scan mirrors of SCIAMACHY (onboard ENVISAT).

Description: Characterization of atmospheric aerosols is important for understanding their impact on health and climate. A wealth of aerosol parameters can be retrieved from multi-angle, multi-wavelength radiance and polarization measurements of the clear sky. We developed a ground-based SPEX instrument (groundSPEX) for accurate spectropolarimetry, based on the passive, robust, athermal, and snapshot spectral polarization modulation technique, and is hence ideal for field deployment. It samples the scattering phase function in the principal plane in an automated fashion, using a motorized pan/tilt unit and automatic exposure time detection. Extensive radiometric and polarimetric calibrations were performed, yielding values for both random noise and systematic uncertainties. The absolute polarimetric accuracy at low degrees of polarization is established to be ~5 × 10−3. About 70 measurement sequences have been performed throughout four clear-sky days at Cabauw, the Netherlands. Several aerosol parameters were retrieved: aerosol optical thickness, effective radius, and complex refractive index for fine and coarse mode. The results are in good agreement with the colocated AERONET products, with a correlation coefficient of ρ = 0.932 for the total aerosol optical thickness at 550 nm.

Description: In this paper, the use of a neural network algorithm for the retrieval of the aerosol properties from ground-based spectropolarimetric measurements is discussed. The neural network is able to retrieve the aerosol properties with an accuracy that is almost comparable to that of an iterative retrieval. By using the outcome of the neural network as first guess in the iterative retrieval scheme, the accuracy of the retrieved fine- and coarse-mode optical thickness is further improved, while for the other parameters the improvement is small or absent. The resulting scheme (neural network + iterative retrieval) is compared to the original one (look-up table + iterative retrieval) on a set of simulated ground-based measurements, and on a small set of real observations carried out by an accurate ground-based spectropolarimeter. The results show that the use of a neural-network-based first guess leads to an increase in the number of converging retrievals, and possibly to more accurate estimates of the aerosol effective radius and complex refractive index.

Description: Characterization of atmospheric aerosols is important for understanding their impact on health and climate. A wealth of aerosol parameters can be retrieved from multi-angle, multi-wavelength radiance and polarization measurements of the clear sky. We developed a ground-based SPEX instrument (groundSPEX) for accurate spectropolarimetry, based on the passive, robust, athermal and snapshot spectral polarization modulation technique, and hence ideal for field deployment. It samples the scattering phase function in the principal plane in an automated fashion, using a motorized pan/tilt unit and automatic exposure time detection. Extensive radiometric and polarimetric calibrations were performed, yielding values for both random noise and systematic uncertainties. The absolute polarimetric accuracy at low degrees of polarization is established to be ~ 5 × 10−3. About 70 measurement sequences have been performed throughout four clear-sky days at Cabauw, the Netherlands. Several aerosol parameters were retrieved: aerosol optical thickness, effective radius, and complex refractive index for fine and coarse mode. The results are in good agreement with the co-located AERONET products, with a correlation coefficient of ρ = 0.932 for the total aerosol optical thickness at 550 nm.

Description: We present a comprehensive model that can be employed to describe and correct for degradation of (scan) mirrors and diffusers in satellite instruments that suffer from changing optical UV-VIS properties during their operational lifetime. As trend studies become more important, so does the importance to understand and correct for this degradation. This is the case not only with respect to the transmission of the optical components, but also with respect to wavelength, polarisation or scan-angle-effects. Our hypothesis is that mirrors in-flight suffer from the deposition of a thin absorbing layer of contaminant, which slowly builds up over time. We describe this with the Mueller matrix formalism and Fresnel equations for thin multi-layer contamination films. Special care is taken to avoid the confusion often present in earlier publications concerning Mueller matrix calculus with out of plane reflections. The method can be applied to any UV-VIS satellite instrument, and in any orbit, both low and geostationary. We illustrate and verify our approach on the optical behaviour of the multiple scan mirrors of SCIAMACHY (on board of ENVISAT).

Description: Southern Africa produces almost a third of the Earths biomass burning (BB) aerosol particles. Particles lofted into the mid-troposphere are transported westward over the South-East (SE) Atlantic, home to one of the three permanent subtropical stratocumulus (Sc) cloud decks in the world. The SE Atlantic stratocumulus deck interacts with the dense layers of BB aerosols that initially overlay the cloud deck, but later subside and often mix into the clouds. These interactions include adjustments to aerosol-induced solar heating and microphysical effects, and their global representation in climate models remains one of the largest uncertainties in estimates of future climate. Hence, new observations over the SE Atlantic have significant implications for regional and global climate change predictions.The low-level clouds in the SE Atlantic have limited vertical extent and therefore present favorable conditions for their exploration with remote sensing. On the other hand, the normal coexistence of BB aerosols and Sc clouds in the same scene also presents significant challenges to conventional remote sensing techniques. We describe first results from NASAs airborne ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols Above Clouds and Their IntEractionS) deployments in September 2016 and August 2017. We emphasize the unique role of polarimetric observations by two instruments, the Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) and the Airborne Multi-angle SpectroPolarimeter Imager (AirMSPI), and describe how these instruments help address specific ORACLES science objectives. Initial assessments of polarimetric observation accuracy for key cloud and aerosol properties will be presented, in as far as the preliminary nature of measurements permits.