Laser sounding of aerosols using airborne and space facilities

The paper presents the results of laser sounding of water droplet crystal and mixed clouds carried out using an airborne lidar. A new method of determining the phase state of a cloud is described. The results are given on numerical experiments of laser sounding of various clouds using a polarization lidar for large variety of geometrical parameters of sounding schemes and optical characteristics of clouds. Numerical simulation of the results of laser sounding of aerosols from outer space for different lidar parameters and geometrical schemes of sounding is carried out using new models of vertical profiles of aerosol characteristics.     

太赫兹大气临边探测仪遥感中高层大气风仿真

太赫兹大气临边探测仪（TALIS）是中国正在预研的第一台THz频段的临边探测仪，主要用于高精度、高分辨率的大气遥感测量.TALIS的观测目标主要包括大气温度、大气压强、大气成分（例如H₂O，O₃，HCl，ClO，N₂O，HNO₃等）的垂直分布以及长期变化趋势.由于TALIS的频段覆盖了许多重要的吸收谱线，其观测数据中包含大气风的多普勒信息，因此可以用于反演中高层风的廓线.本文针对TALIS视线多普勒风的观测进行仿真，利用辐射传输模型（ARTS）评估了TALIS测风的潜力和相应的反演精度.结果表明，TALIS的118GHz谱仪具有较好的测量精度，在70km处的精度为12m·s-1.183GHz，633GHz和658GHz谱仪也有一定的测量信息，反演精度分别为19m·s-1（60km），19m·s-1（50km），16m·s-1（50km）.TALIS有一个候选的测风谱仪位于655GHz频段，其在55km处的反演精度为11m·s-1.此外，虽然降低谱分辨率能有效提高系统灵敏度，但并不能提高反演精度，需要通过降低系统噪声来提高测风的精度.      

Spaceborne lidar measurement accuracy: Simulation of aerosol,cloud, molecular density,and temperature retrievals

Spaceborne lidar measurements and retrievals are simulated using realistic errors in signal, conventional density information, atmospheric transmission, and lidar calibration. We find that by day, independent analysis of returns at wavelengths of 0.53 and 1.06 μm yields vertical profiles (0.1- to 1-km resolution) of tenuous clouds and boundary-layer, Saharan, and strong volcanic stratospheric aerosols to accuracies of 30% or better, provided particulate optical depth does not exceed ?0.3. By night all these constituents are retrieved, plus noctilucent clouds, mesospheric aerosols, and upper tropospheric/nonvolcanic stratospheric (UT/NVS) areosols. Molecular-density uncertainties are a dominant source of error for UT/NVS retrievals.To reduce these errors and also to provide density and temperature profiles, we developed a procedure that combines returns at 0.35 and 1.06 μm. This technique significantly improves UT/NVS aerosol retrieval accuracy and also yields useful density and temperature profiles there. Strong particulate contamination limits the technique to the cloud-free upper troposphere and above.     

Comparison of ground reflectance measurement with satellite derived atmospherically corrected reflectance: A case study over semi-arid landscape

Atmospheric corrections to satellite data are important for comparing multitemporal data sets over tropical regions with variable aerosol loading. In this study, we evaluated the potential of 6S radiative transfer model for atmospheric corrections of IRS-P6 AWiFS satellite data sets, in a semi-arid landscape. Ground measurements of surface reflectance representing different land use/land cover categories were conducted to relate IRS-P6 AWiFS top of atmospheric reflectance. The 6S radiative transfer model was calibrated for local conditions using ground measurements for aerosol optical depth, water vapor and ozone with a sun photometer. Surface reflectance retrieved from 6S code was compared with top of atmosphere (TOA) reflectance and ground based spectroradiometer measurements. Accurate parameterization of the 6S model using measurements of aerosol optical depth, water vapor and ozone plays an important role while comparing ground and satellite derived reflectance measurements.     

行星大气1~3000GHz微波-亚毫米波辐射模拟

为模拟行星大气在微波elax-elax亚毫米波波段的辐射传输特性,利用逐线积分方法计算行星大气中各气体成分在1~3000GHz的吸收系数.基于HITRAN数据库中各气体分子的跃迁频率及线强等参数,有效模拟了各气体分子在此频段内的吸收特征,并与常用的微波elax-elax亚毫米波大气辐射传输模式进行对比.分析地球大气的组成及特性,利用辐射传输方程模拟临边探测方式下不同频段的大气辐射亮温.研究结果可为后续地球乃至行星大气成分探测模拟、频带选择以及大气成分廓线反演提供模型及理论依据.      

Middle atmosphere electrical structure,dynamics and coupling

The ram current to ion traps and the insensitivity of ion conductivity to compressibility provide the basis of robust techniques for middle atmosphere measurements. Gerdien condensers are more difficult to implement but provide more information. Mesospheric electrical conductivity shows many orders of magnitude variability, with depressions below gas phase model values indicating dominance by aerosol particles. The mobility of these ions has been directly measured and indicates particles of thousands of AMU. Large mesospheric fields have come into question, and diagnostic measurements show that many such measurements may be artifacts. However, some measurements of V/m fields with symmetrical and redundant sensors appear to be real. These fields complicate the “mapping” picture of electrical coupling and may also modulate the transport of aerosol particles. They are probably related to neutral atmosphere dynamics and/or the aerosol particles. Lightning couples much more energy to the middle atmosphere and above than previously suspected, primarily in the ELF-ULF range. There are many important unanswered questions in this relatively unexplored frontier area which may be answered with low cost balloon and sounding rocket experiments.     

基于HITRAN数据库的大气激光雷达信号仿真

信号仿真研究是大气激光雷达研究的重要环节，结果可为激光雷达系统的设计和研制提供基础.本文仿真系统可用于激光雷达回波信号模拟.该仿真系统利用HITRAN数据库中的吸收谱线计算大气分子对激光的吸收光谱，并采用大气辐射传输模型中的气溶胶模式模拟气溶胶对激光的衰减.利用激光雷达方程，数值模拟了355nm，532nm以及1064nm的回波信号，并将532nm的数值模拟结果与实测结果进行对比，评估了激光雷达系统的光学效率.      

Optical properties of the Venusian atmosphere and radiative heat exchange

A detailed study has been made of the optical properties of the gas and aerosol phases of the atmosphere of Venus. The radiative heat exchange has been calculated for the most probable models of atmospheric structural and optical characteristics.     

Passive remote sensing of aerosols from space now and in the future

Aerosols modify scattered solar radiation leaving the atmosphere and this fact will be exploited to determine the aerosol optical depth. The interaction processes between solar radiation and aerosol particles are outlined. A quasi-linear relationship (‘conversion curves’) between the radiance at the satellite, L_sat, and the aerosol optical depth, a_Dλ, is found from both numerical and empirical studies. Because L_sat is not only controlled by a_Dλ, but also by a series of other atmospheric parameters (perturbing quantities), the concept of ‘favourable viewing conditions’ is presented, where the effects of the perturbing quantities are minimal. The paper ends with some lines of thought on a concept for a turbidity satellite.     

The effect of aerosols on climate and aerosol climatology on the basis of observations from space

Principal aspects of the effect of aerosols on climate are discussed and the possibilities of obtaining a climatic data set of global aerosols are analyzed. Based on the analysis of space images, new data have been obtained on gigantic dust outbreaks in various regions of the Earth. It has been shown that dust outbreaks can propagate over hundreds and sometimes thousands of kilometers. The western Sahara - Atlantic Ocean is the major region of propagation of these outbreaks. The continent-to-continent trajectories of dust clouds have been discovered (from Africa to the coast of America, from Central Asia to the Pacific Ocean). Maps of the sources of strong dust transformations have been studied and drawn. In particular, an anthropogenic dust source has been found out on the northeastern coast of the Aral Sea. A striped mesostructure of dust formations has been analyzed, determined by both the inhomogeneous surface and peculiarities of the eddy dust transport. The techniques have been discussed in detail for retrieving the parameters of aerosol size distribution and the vertical profiles of the coefficients of aerosol extinction in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere from the data on the brightness of the twilight and daytime horizon as well as occultation measurements of solar radiation attenuation by the atmosphere.The difficulty of reliably predicting possible environmental changes arises both from the problems of estimating complex interactions of numerous processes and from a lack of information concerning various environmental parameters. For example, an important factor in present day climatic changes is the increased dust content of the atmosphere due to man's activities. However, a reliable estimate of this influence is found to be impossible due to the absence of definitive data on the global distribution of atmospheric dust and the properties of dust in various parts of the world [4,5,13–15]. The impact of aerosols on climate has been discussed in detail in a number of monographs [12–15].Observations from space have opened up new possibilities for studying atmospheric dust. For this purpose, both the imagery and spectrometry of the Earth's atmosphere from space are used. Rather attractive are the prospects for laser sounding [1].     

Most suitable conditions for aerosol monitoring from space

Numerical modelling is used to search for the most suitable conditions, with the object of determining the atmospheric turbidity (aerosol optical depth) from upward emerging spectral radiances in cloudfree pixels over water surfaces. The most suitable conditions are those where the influence of the turbidity on the radiance most strongly outweighs that of the other optically acting constituents. Since the actual values of these constituents of atmosphere and surface are usually known only within certain limits, using the most suitable conditions minimizes the uncertainty in the turbidity to be derived from satellite measurements. As a result, favorable zenith angles of the satellite and favorable wavelengths are presented for an atmosphere with maritime aerosols with and without Saharan dust. The results represent an advance on a paper published by the authors in 1981 [1].     

Detection of aerosol pollution sources during sandstorms in Northwestern China using remote sensed and model simulated data

The present paper has used a comprehensive approach to study atmosphere pollution sources including the study of vertical distribution characteristics, the epicenters of occurrence and transport of atmospheric aerosol in North-West China under intensive dust storm registered in all cities of the region in April 2014. To achieve this goal, the remote sensing data using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite (MODIS) as well as model-simulated data, were used, which facilitate tracking the sources, routes, and spatial extent of dust storms. The results of the study have shown strong territory pollution with aerosol during sandstorm. According to ground-based air quality monitoring stations data, concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 exceeded 400?μg/m³ and 150?μg/m³, respectively, the ratio PM_2.5/PM₁₀ being within the range of 0.123–0.661. According to MODIS/Terra Collection 6 Level-2 aerosol products data and the Deep Blue algorithm data, the aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550?nm in the pollution epicenter was within 0.75–1. The vertical distribution of aerosols indicates that the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) 532?nm total attenuates backscatter coefficient ranges from 0.01 to 0.0001?km^?1?×?sr^?1 with the distribution of the main types of aerosols in the troposphere of the region within 0–12.5?km, where the most severe aerosol contamination is observed in the lower troposphere (at 3–6?km). According to satellite sounding and model-simulated data, the sources of pollution are the deserted regions of Northern and Northwestern China.     

气溶胶光学特性偏振遥感反演算法

陆地上空大气顶的辐射主要由大气散射和地表反射组成,一般地表反射的贡献要大于大气散射的贡献,使得陆地上空气溶胶的特性提取非常困难,而偏振信息只强烈依赖于散射粒子的特性,发展基于偏振信息的气溶胶反演方法是非常有效的. 通过对矢量辐射传输方程求解进行研究,基于倍加累加法矢量辐射传输模式分析影响气溶胶反演的主要因素,确定多维参数查找表建立方法,利用POLDER(Polarization and Directionality of the Earth-s Reflectances)提供的反射率和偏振反射率数据,发展了一种利用反射率和偏振反射率查找表迭代查找反演气溶胶光学参数和地表反射率的算法,实现了对北京、香河、Dalanzadgad观测站上空气溶胶光学厚度、粒子半径、折射指数和地表反射率的反演.用AERONET(Aerosol Robotic Network)地基数据对反演结果进行了验证.     

一种区域参考大气密度的建模与应用方法

为满足空天试验研究中对参考大气模型的实际需求,即模型应具有跨时空的全球尺度覆盖性以及在起降关键航迹点的高精度性,提出了一种区域参考大气密度的建模与应用方法。首先对实测数据的冬夏季典型月份的大气密度特性,具体包括月均值与密度扰动进行统计分析,在此基础上提出了基于探空试验实测数据的全球参考大气模型（GRAM）的定量修正方法,从而构建起了包含有大气扰动与季节变化的区域参考大气密度模型。最后提出了区域参考大气密度模型向GRAM的过渡方法与实际应用方法。研究表明,探测地区的大气密度特性具有明显的冬夏季节性差异,需要根据季节构建相应的大气密度模型。区域参考大气模型的蒙特卡罗仿真可以有效模拟实测数据的大气密度特性。通过与GRAM过渡结合,参考大气模型既具有全球覆盖性,又具有很高的局部精度。      

GNSS遥感探测卫星星座设计

随着全球导航卫星系统（Global Navigation Satellite System，GNSS）掩星大气探测技术的兴起，GNSS遥感探测数据在气象数据资源中逐步占据重要地位，但是目前的掩星探测数量远不能满足数值天气预报等应用的需求，未来更需要充分利用GNSS信号资源，开展更大规模的GNSS掩星卫星星座探测.本文以世界气象组织发布的大气海洋数据需求为参考，提出新一代GNSS遥感探测星座任务需求与设计约束.在理想大气模型假设下，利用几何解析方法研究了探测卫星星座构型参数对探测性能的影响，并建立了新一代GNSS遥感探测卫星星座设计基本准则.以风云卫星为子星座，给出了星座规模同为40颗的三种GNSS遥感探测微纳卫星星座设计方案.研究结果表明，具备该规模的探测星座可满足数值天气预报等气象应用的最低数据需求，三种构型方案中，由高、中、低倾角三组Walker子星座与风云卫星子星座组建的GNSS遥感探测星座探测性能最优.      

Bayesian approach to retrieval of vertical ozone profile from radiometry data

A technique for retrieving vertical distributions (profiles) of atmospheric gas constituents from data of passive remote sensing of the atmosphere is proposed. The goal of the technique based on the statistical (Bayesian) approach to solution of inverse problems is construction of probability distribution for a sought quantity throughout the interval of the studied heights. It is assumed that initial data contain measurement noise, and a priori information about properties of the profile is used. It is proposed to approximate the sought profile by a function in the form of an artificial neural network. This approximation allows optimal inclusion of a priori information into retrieval procedure, thus ensuring the most effective regularization of the problem. Efficiency of the proposed technique is demonstrated on an example of retrieval of vertical ozone profile from data of ground-based sounding of the atmosphere in the millimeter wavelength range. Results of profile retrieval from model data and from spectra of radiation temperature of the atmosphere measured in the Apatity (67° N, 33° E) in the winter of 2002–2003 are presented.     

太赫兹火星大气临边探测仿真研究

对火星大气进行连续高分辨率观测是研究火星大气物理和化学过程的重要手段.太赫兹临边探测技术通过测量火星大气中的风和光化学循环中的重要气体（CO，O₃，H₂O，H₂O₂等）提高对火星的认知.针对火星大气遥感的探测需求，分析了300～1000GHz频段的频谱特征.针对探测卫星对于载荷质量、功耗等参数的要求，提出一个560GHz频段的火星大气太赫兹临边探测仪设计方案，并利用辐射传输模型ARTS中的行星工具箱进行仿真.仿真结果显示:火星大气温度的反演精度优于4K，其中45km高度以下优于2K；H₂O丰度的反演精度在90km以下优于50%，30km以下优于2%；H₂O₂的反演精度在40km以下优于50%；O₃的反演精度在50km以下优于60%；大气风速度的反演精度在65km以上优于5m·s-1，最高可以达到2m·s-1.研究结果表明，利用太赫兹波段的吸收谱线可以很好地探测火星大气中各成分的丰度、变化趋势以及中高层大气的风，可为后续火星表面及大气探测提供参考.      

A comparison of atmospheric aerosol measurements by various satellite sensors

Investigations to measure the vertical optical thickness of aerosols over ocean surfaces has been conducted using several different satellite sensors. Landsat 1 and Landsat 2 data originally confirmed that a linear relationship exists between the upwelling visible radiance and the aerosol optical thickness (about 90% of this thickness is generally in the lowest 3 km of the atmosphere). Similar relationships have also been found for sensors on GOES-1, SMS-2, NOAA-5, and NOAA-6 satellites. The linear relationship has been shown theoretically to vary with the aerosol properties, such as size distribution and refractive index, although the Landsat data obtained at San Diego showed little variability in the relationship. The differences between the results found for the various satellite sensors are discussed, and are attributed mainly to uncertainties in the calibration of the sensors. To investigate the general applicability of the technique to different locations, a global-scale ground truth experiment was conducted with the AVHRR sensor on NOAA-6 to determine the relationship at eleven ocean sites around the globe. Analysis of the data shows good agreement between the satellite and ground truth values of the aerosol optical thickness, and indicates that the technique has global application. At two of the sites, multispectral radiometric measurements of the Junge aerosol size distribution parameter were made, and showed good agreement with a value inferred from the AVHRR Channels 1 and 2 radiances.     

Optical properties of dust and the opacity of the Martian atmosphere

Particulate component of the Mars atmosphere composed by micron-sized products of soil weathering and water ice clouds strongly affects the current climate of the planet. In the absence of a dust storm so-called permanent dust haze with τ ≈ 0.2 in the atmosphere of Mars determines its thermal structure. Dust loading varies substantially with the season and geographic location, and only the data of mapping instruments are adequate to characterize it, such as TES/MGS and IRTM/Viking. In spite of vast domain of collected data, no model is now capable to explain all observed spectral features of dust aerosol. Several mineralogical and microphysical models of the atmospheric dust have been proposed but they cannot explain the pronounced systematic differences between the IR data (τ = 0.05–0.2) and measurements from the surface (Viking landers, Pathfinder) which give the typical “clear” optical depth of τ ≈ 0.5 from one side, and ground-based observations in the UV–visible range showing much more transparent atmosphere, on the other side. Also the relationship between τ₉ and the visible optical depth is not well constrained experimentally so far. Future focused measurements are therefore necessary to study Martian aerosol.