Aerosol impact and correction on temperature profile retrieval from MODIS

Abstract

Aerosols over desert areas can impact the temperature profile retrieval using infrared remote sensing techniques. Retrievals from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Infrared (IR) radiances over the Gobi region in China show that atmospheric temperatures above the top of the boundary layer can be retrieved with a root mean square error (rmse) better than 2 K. In the boundary layer, the error in the temperature retrieval is largely due to limited spectral information and uncertainty of the radiative transfer model. The error in the retrieved atmospheric boundary layer temperature is positively correlated with aerosol optical depth (AOD) and estimated errors of skin temperature and surface IR emissivities. Taking into account the aerosol effect in the radiative transfer model, the temperature retrievals from MODIS are improved by approximately 0.38 K in the boundary layer depending on the aerosol optical depth (AOD). Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.