A study of the Effect of Dust Properties on Retrieval Accuracy Using HARP CubeSat Multi-Angular Polarimetric Observations.
Abstract
Understanding aerosol interactions with Earth's system is vital to determining Earth's energy balance. However, aerosol interactions have been identified as the largest source of uncertainty in determining Earth's energy balance. Aside from their impact on climate systems, aerosols also adversely affect human health. Modeling and forecasting aerosol concentration are critical to preventing adverse human health effect. Most global aerosol information is currently gathering through satellite-based measurements of radiometric intensities. The Hyper Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (HARP) CubeSat is an instrument, developed at the University of Maryland Baltimore county, was launched into space in 2019 and began collecting data in April 2020 from ISS orbit. HARP measured the intensity of light at the top of the atmosphere in three polarization angles at four different wavelengths, with 670 nm band having a hyper-angular capability of up to 60 viewing angles. in the last two years, HARP has captured several aerosol events, including the 2020 trans-Atlantic dust transport from the Sahara. HARP-2, the successor to HARP CubeSat, will be aboard NASA's upcoming Plankton Aerosol Cloud ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite. HARP-2 will have improved radiometric and polarimetric accuracy compared to the original HARP. Our study presents the preliminary results of dust aerosol retrievals from HARP observations using the Generalized Retrieval of Aerosols and Surface Properties (GRASP) algorithm applied to several dust cases taken at different points in HARP's lifetime. This study will greatly improve GRASP retrieval abilities for HARP-2 and any future multi-angle polarimeter instrument by determining their effects on dust aerosol microphysical and optical properties assumptions. Validation and comparison of HARP retrievals are performed using AERONET ground-base measurements.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2022
- Bibcode:
- 2022AGUFM.A52I1074J