Remote Sensing of Tropospheric Aerosols from Space: Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

Tropospheric aerosol particles originate from man-made sources such as urban/industrial activities, biomass burning associated with land use processes, wind-blown dust, and natural sources. Their interaction with sunlight and their effect on cloud microphysics form a major uncertainty in predicting climate change. Furthermore, the lifetime of only a few days causes high spatial variability in aerosol optical and radiative properties that requires global observations from space. Remote sensing of tropospheric aerosol properties from space is reviewed both for present and planned national and international satellite sensors. Techniques that are being used to enhance our ability to characterize the global distribution of aerosol properties include well-calibrated multispectral radiometers, multispectral polarimeters, and multiangle spectroradiometers. Though most of these sensor systems rely primarily on visible to near-infrared spectral channels, the availability of thermal channels to aid in cloud... Abstract Tropospheric aerosol particles originate from man-made sources such as urban/industrial activities, biomass burning associated with land use processes, wind-blown dust, and natural sources. Their interaction with sunlight and their effect on cloud microphysics form a major uncertainty in predicting climate change. Furthermore, the lifetime of only a few days causes high spatial variability in aerosol optical and radiative properties that requires global observations from space. Remote sensing of tropospheric aerosol properties from space is reviewed both for present and planned national and international satellite sensors. Techniques that are being used to enhance our ability to characterize the global distribution of aerosol properties include well-calibrated multispectral radiometers, multispectral polarimeters, and multiangle spectroradiometers. Though most of these sensor systems rely primarily on visible to near-infrared spectral channels, the availability of thermal channels to aid in cloud...