Publication Date:
2020-01-13
Description:
The Airborne Multi-angle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI) has been flying aboard the NASA ER-2 high altitude aircraft since October 2010. In step-and-stare operation mode, AirMSPI acquires radiance and polarization data at 355, 380, 445, 470*, 555, 660*, 865*, and 935 nm (* denotes polarimetric bands). The imaged area covers about 10 km by 10 km and is observed from 9 view angles between 67 off of nadir. We have developed an efficient and flexible code that uses the information content of AirMSPI data for a coupled retrieval of aerosol properties and surface reflection. The retrieval was built based on the multi-pixel optimization concept, with the use of a hybrid radiative transfer model that combines the Markov Chain and adding/doubling methods. The convergence and robustness of our algorithm is ensured by applying constraints on (a) the spectral variation of the Bidirectional Polarization Distribution Function (BPDF) and angular shape of the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF); (b) the spectral variation of aerosol optical properties; and (c) the spatial variation of aerosol parameters across neighboring image pixels. Our retrieval approach has been tested using over 20 AirMSPI datasets having low to moderately high aerosol loadings (~0.02〈AOD550-nm〈~0.45) and acquired during several field campaigns. Results are compared with AERONET aerosol reference data. We also explore the benefits of AirMSPIs ultraviolet and polarimetric bands as well as the use of multiple view angles.
Keywords:
Instrumentation and Photography; Geosciences (General)
Type:
JPL-CL-16-3454
,
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting; Dec 12, 2016 - Dec 16, 2016; San Francisco, CA; United States
Format:
text
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