This book provides a comprehensive review of available techniques for the remote sensing of aerosols. Although satellite remote sensing is mostly considered, ground-based techniques are also discussed. In particular, the author describes techniques for the determination of the column concentration of aerosol particles and their optical sizing using spaceborne optical instrumentation. The majority of the techniques described in this book use a so-called "library method".

Aerosols may also be responsible for the loss of harvest, health problems among humans and ecological disasters. Therefore, it is of great importance to study aerosol properties on a global scale. Such studies ultimately should be based on global observations using instruments positioned on the space platforms.

A comprehensive review of available techniques for the remote sensing of aerosols Satellite remote sensing is considered, ground-based techniques are also discussed

Autorentext

I graduated from the Physical Department of the Belarusian State University in Minsk, Belarus (1983). Since then I have worked for the last 22 years in the Laboratory of light scattering media optics at the Institute of Physics (Minsk, Belarus). At the moment I am working with the SCIAMACHY algorithm development team at the Institute of Environmental Physics in Bremen (Germany). The main task is the development of new cloud retrieval algorithms for water and ice clouds as seen by the spectrometer SCIAMACHY (in space from 2002). Main results are obtained in the field of geometrical optics, asymptotic radiative transfer theory and trace gases/aerosol/cloud properties retrievals using passive remote sensing techniques. I have written three books: Light Scattering Media Optics (1999, 2001, 2004), Polarization Optics of Random Media (2003), and

Klappentext
In Aerosol Optics , Alexander Kokhanovsky provides a comprehensive review of available techniques for the remote sensing of aerosols. Although mostly satellite remote sensing is considered, ground-based techniques are also discussed. The work is founded on the solid basis of radiative transfer theory, coupled with Maxwell theory for the calculation of the scattering properties of small particles. IN particular, the author describes techniques for the determination of the column concentration of aerosol particles and their optical sizing using spaceborne optical instrumentation. The majority of the techniques described in this book use a so-called "library method". This method relies upon the precalculated top-of-atmosphere reflectances (TOAR) for vaious atmospheric aerosol types. The comparison of measured and calculated TOARS allows one to characterize the optically-equivalent aerosol state.

Inhalt
Microphysical parameters and chemical composition of atmospheric aerosol.- Optical properties of atmospheric aerosol.- Multiple light scattering in aerosol media.- Fourier optics of aerosol media.- Optical remote sensing of atmospheric aerosol.