ALBERT

Description: Assimilation of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) total aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieval products (at 550 nm wavelength) from both Terra and Aqua satellites have been developed within the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) data assimilation system. This newly developed algorithm allows, in a one-step procedure, the analysis of 3-D mass concentration of 14 aerosol variables from the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) module. The Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM) was extended to calculate AOD using GOCART aerosol variables as input. Both the AOD forward model and corresponding Jacobian model were developed within the CRTM and used in the 3DVAR minimization algorithm to compute the AOD cost function and its gradient with respect to 3-D aerosol mass concentration. The impact of MODIS AOD data assimilation was demonstrated by application to a dust storm from 17 to 24 March 2010 over East Asia. The aerosol analyses initialized Weather Research and Forecasting/Chemistry (WRF/Chem) model forecasts. Results indicate that assimilating MODIS AOD substantially improves aerosol analyses and subsequent forecasts when compared to MODIS AOD, independent AOD observations from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument, and surface PM10 (particulate matter with diameters less than 10 μm) observations. The newly developed AOD data assimilation system can serve as a tool to improve simulations of dust storms and general air quality analyses and forecasts.

Description: A radiative transfer model, the matrix operator method, is discussed here. The matrix operator method is applied to a plane-parallel atmosphere within three spectral ranges: the visible, the infrared, and the microwave. For a homogeneous layer with spherical scattering, the radiative transfer equation can be solved analytically. The vertically inhomogeneous atmosphere can be subdivided into a set of homogeneous layers. The solution of the radiative transfer equation for the vertically inhomogeneous atmosphere is obtained recurrently from the analytical solutions for the subdivided layers. As an example for the application of the matrix operator method, the effects of the cirrus and the stratocumulus clouds on the net radiation at the surface and at the top of the atmosphere are investigated. The relationship between the polarization in the microwave range and the rain rates is also studied. Copies of the FORTRAN program and the documentation of the FORTRAN program on a diskette are available.