Remote Sensing and Observation of the Optical Properties of Aerosols

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Aerosols".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2023) | Viewed by 1359

Special Issue Editors

Department of Physics, San Jacinto College, South Campus, Houston, TX 77089, USA
Interests: aerosol optical and physical properties; aerosol radiative forcing; biomass burning aerosols; satellite retrieval of aerosol and trace gas
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
College of Health & Natural Sciences; Franklin Pierce University, Rindge, NH 03461, USA
Interests: aerosol radiative properties; comparison of surface level and column integrated aerosol optical properties; direct and indirect impact of aerosols; long range transport of aerosols; remote sensing of aerosols
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of General Education & Health Studies; Baptist Health Science University, Memphis, TN 38104, USA
Interests: air pollution; anthropogenic and natural aerosols; aerosol radiative properties; aerosol impact on climate; remote sensing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding aerosols' role in Earth's energy budget is crucial to predicting and mitigating climate change since aerosol optical characteristics, scattering, and absorption affect Earth's energy budget. Natural sources such as dust and sea salt and human-made sources such as vehicle emissions and industrial processes contribute to aerosols. As a direct result of aerosol–radiation interactions, aerosols have an immediate radiative effect on their interaction with them. As absorbing aerosols absorb solar radiation, they warm the atmosphere while a scattering of light cools the planet by enhancing the amount of sunlight reflected in space. Solar radiation scattering can reduce the amount of solar energy reaching the surface. The indirect effects of atmospheric aerosols relate to how they interact with clouds. Cloud droplet size and lifetime are affected by aerosols, which can act as condensation nuclei in clouds. As a result, clouds' reflectivity (albedo) and the amount of solar radiation reflected into space can be affected. Thus, the Earth's energy budget is affected by the type and concentration of aerosols as well as the properties of clouds.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to bring together scientists using ground- and satellite-based remote sensing techniques and direct observations at the surface to study aerosols' optical properties. The Special Issue also illustrates surface-level and column-integrated aerosol optical properties and the influence of local air pollution sources and long-range aerosol transport on aerosol optical properties. 

Dr. Madhu Gyawali
Dr. Rudra P. Aryal
Dr. Yadav Pandit
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 3781 KiB  
Article
Aerosol Optical Properties and Type Retrieval via Machine Learning and an All-Sky Imager
by Stavros-Andreas Logothetis, Christos-Panagiotis Giannaklis, Vasileios Salamalikis, Panagiotis Tzoumanikas, Panagiotis-Ioannis Raptis, Vassilis Amiridis, Kostas Eleftheratos and Andreas Kazantzidis
Atmosphere 2023, 14(8), 1266; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14081266 - 10 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1000
Abstract
This study investigates the applicability of using the sky information from an all-sky imager (ASI) to retrieve aerosol optical properties and type. Sky information from the ASI, in terms of Red-Green-Blue (RGB) channels and sun saturation area, are imported into a supervised machine [...] Read more.
This study investigates the applicability of using the sky information from an all-sky imager (ASI) to retrieve aerosol optical properties and type. Sky information from the ASI, in terms of Red-Green-Blue (RGB) channels and sun saturation area, are imported into a supervised machine learning algorithm for estimating five different aerosol optical properties related to aerosol burden (aerosol optical depth, AOD at 440, 500 and 675 nm) and size (Ångström Exponent at 440–675 nm, and Fine Mode Fraction at 500 nm). The retrieved aerosol optical properties are compared against reference measurements from the AERONET station, showing adequate agreement (R: 0.89–0.95). The AOD errors increased for higher AOD values, whereas for AE and FMF, the biases increased for coarse particles. Regarding aerosol type classification, the retrieved properties can capture 77.5% of the total aerosol type cases, with excellent results for dust identification (>95% of the cases). The results of this work promote ASI as a valuable tool for aerosol optical properties and type retrieval. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing and Observation of the Optical Properties of Aerosols)
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