Effect of the aerosol type uncertainty on the surface reflectance retrieval using CHRIS/PROBA hyperspectral images over land.

The surface reflectance is crucial for the quantitative analysis of land surface properties in geological, agricultural and urban studies. The first requirement for a reliable surface reflectance estimation is an accurate atmospheric correction obtained by an appropriate selection of aerosol loading and type. The aerosol optical thickness at 550nm is widely used to describe the aerosol loading. Recent works have highlighted the relevant role of the aerosol types on the atmospheric correction process defined by their micro-physical properties. The aim of this work is to evaluate the radiative impact of the aerosol type on the surface reflectance obtained from CHRIS (Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) hyperspectral data over land. CHRIS on PROBA satellite is an high resolution multi-angular imaging spectrometer, operating in the visible near-infrared spectral domain (400 to 1000 nm). As test case the urban site of Brussels has been selected. The physically-based algorithm CHRIS@CRI (CHRIS Atmospherically Corrected Reflectance Imagery) has been developed specifically for CHRIS data by using the vector version of 6S (6SV) radiative transfer model. The atmospheric data needed for the atmospheric correction were obtained from CIMEL CE-318 of the Brussels AERONET station. CHRIS images were selected if simultaneous AERONET data were available. Other specific requirements for imagery acquisition were high aerosol loading and high solar irradiation. The aerosol radiative impact has been investigated comparing the reflectance obtained by applying the CHRIS@CRI algorithm with different aerosol types: the three aerosol standard of 6SV and two characterized by specific microphysical properties provided by the AERONET station and calculated with FlexAOD code (a post-processing tool of the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem), respectively. The results show a clear dependence of the atmospheric correction results on the aerosol absorption properties.