Aerosol optical depth retrieval in the Arctic region using MODIS data over snow

Author(s): Mei, LL (Mei, Linlu)[ 6,7,8 ] ; Xue, Y (Xue, Yong)[ 1,2 ] ; de Leeuw, G (de Leeuw, Gerrit)[ 3,4,5 ] ; von Hoyningen-Huene, W (von Hoyningen-Huene, Wolfgang)[ 6 ] ; Kokhanovsky, AA (Kokhanovsky, Alexander A.)[ 6 ] ; Istomina, L (Istomina, Larysa)[ 6 ] ; Guang, J (Guang, Jie)[ 7,8 ] ; Burrows, JP (Burrows, John P.)[ 6 ]

Source: REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT  Volume: 128   Pages: 234-245   DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2012.10.009   Published: JAN 2013

Abstract: The Arctic is vulnerable to the long-term transport of aerosols because they affect the surface albedo when particles are deposited on snow and ice. However, aerosol observations for this area are sparse and hence there is considerable uncertainty in the knowledge on the properties of the Arctic aerosol. Atmospheric remote sensing using satellite-based instruments offers an opportunity to obtain information on aerosol properties, in particular the aerosol optical depth (AOD) on an extended spatial scale as determined by the instrument's swath width. However, ADD retrieval over a bright surface is a difficult task because it is difficult to separate and explicitly describe the contribution of the surface and that due to back-scattering by aerosols to the radiance observed by a satellite at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), especially at large Solar Zenith Angles (SZA). In this paper, an approach to achieve this is presented based on a synergetic approach using data from both Moderate Resolution Imaging.Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments flying on the TERRA and AQUA satellites. The approached also uses prior knowledge for aerosol properties retrieval over snow as well as a Snow Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) model. The detailed analysis of the model results demonstrates that the Aerosol Properties Retrieval over Snow (APRS) algorithm is suitable for Arctic region Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) retrieval. The study periods include April 2010 and April 2011, when the Arctic haze mostly occurs. Six AERONET stations at high latitude (Andenes, Barrow, Ittoqqortoormiit, OPAL, Thule, and PEARL) were used for comparison. The correlation coefficient between retrieved AODs and AERONET AODs was 0.8 and the relative error is between 10% and 20%, demonstrating the potential of the APRS method to retrieve ADD over the Arctic, with highly reflective snow/ice surfaces and large solar zenith angles. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved,

Accession Number: WOS:000312757600019

Document Type: Article

Language: English

Author Keywords: Arctic region; Satellite remote sensing; Aerosol optical depth; Snow; Prior knowledge

KeyWords Plus: BIDIRECTIONAL REFLECTANCE; SURFACE REFLECTANCE; GLOBAL VALIDATION; LAND SURFACES; POLAR-REGIONS; RESOLUTION; THICKNESS; OCEAN; HAZE; 20TH-CENTURY

Reprint Address: Xue, Y (reprint author)

         London Metropolitan Univ, Fac Comp, 166-220 Holloway Rd, London N7 8DB, England.

Addresses:

         [ 1 ] London Metropolitan Univ, Fac Comp, London N7 8DB, England

         [ 2 ] Chinese Acad Sci, Ctr Earth Observat & Digital Earth, Beijing 100094, Peoples R China

         [ 3 ] Univ Helsinki, Dept Phys, Helsinki, Finland

          [ 4 ] Finnish Meteorol Inst, Climate Change Unit, FIN-00101 Helsinki, Finland

          [ 5 ] Netherlands Org Appl Sci Res TNO, Utrecht, Netherlands

         [ 6 ] Univ Bremen, Inst Environm Phys, D-28359 Bremen, Germany

         [ 7 ] Chinese Acad Sci, State Key Lab Remote Sensing Sci, Inst Remote Sensing Applicat, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China

         [ 8 ] Beijing Normal Univ, Inst Remote Sensing Applicat, Chinese Acad Sci, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China

E-mail Addresses: meilinlu@163.com; yx9@hotmail.com