Method for retrieval of aerosol optical depth from multichannel irradiance measurements.

We present, to the best of our knowledge, a new method for retrieval of aerosol optical depth from multichannel irradiance measurements. A radiative transfer model is used to simulate measurements to create the new aerosol optical depth retrieval method. A description of the algorithm, simulations, proof of principle, merits, possible future developments and implementations is provided. As a demonstration, measurements in the New York City area are simulated based on the specific channel configuration of an existing multichannel irradiance instrument. Verification of the method with irradiance measurement data is also provided.

Ground-based measurements of total ozone column amount with a multichannel moderate-bandwidth filter instrument at the Troll research station, Antarctica.

Combining information from several channels of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU-UV) irradiance meter, one may determine the total ozone column (TOC) amount. A NILU-UV instrument has been deployed and operated on two locations at Troll research station in Jutulsessen, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, for several years. The method used to determine the TOC amount is presented, and the derived TOC values are compared with those obtained from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) located on NASA's AURA satellite. The findings show that the NILU-UV TOC amounts correlate well with the results of the OMI and that the NILU-UV instruments are suitable for monitoring the long-term change and development of the ozone hole. Because of the large footprint of OMI, NILU-UV is a more suitable instrument for local measurements.

Optimizing cirrus optical depth retrievals over the ocean from collocated CALIPSO and AMSR-E observations.

Retrievals of particulate optical depths and extinction coefficients from the cloud-aerosol lidar with orthogonal polarization (CALIOP) instrument deployed on the CALIPSO satellite mainly rely on a single global mean extinction-to-backscatter ratio, also known as the lidar ratio. However, the lidar ratio depends on the microphysical properties of particulates. An alternative approach is adopted to infer single-layer semi-transparent cirrus optical depths (CODs) over the open ocean that does not rely on an assumed lidar ratio. Instead, the COD is inferred directly from backscatter measurements obtained from the CALIOP lidar in conjunction with collocated sea surface wind speed data obtained from AMSR-E. This method is based on a Gram-Charlier ocean surface reflectance model relating wind-driven wave slope variances to sea surface wind speeds. To properly apply this method, the impact of multiple scattering between the sea surface and ice clouds should be taken into account. We take advantage of the 532 nm cross-polarization feature of CALIOP and introduce an empirical method based on the depolarization change at the sea surface to correct for potential bias in sea surface backscatter caused by whitecaps, bubbles, foam, and multiple scattering. After the correction, the COD can be derived for individual CALIOP retrievals in a single cloud layer over the ocean with this method. The global mean COD was found to be roughly 14% higher than the current values determined by the Version 4 CALIOP extinction retrieval algorithm. This study is relevant to future improvements of CALIOP operational products and is expected to lead to more accurate COD retrievals.

Fast yet accurate computation of radiances in shortwave infrared satellite remote sensing channels.

Accurate radiative transfer simulations of signals received by sensors deployed on satellite platforms for remote sensing purposes can be computationally demanding depending on channel width and the spectral variation of atmospheric and surface optical properties. Therefore, methods that can speed up such simulations are desirable. While it is common practice to use atmospheric "window" channels to minimize the influence of gaseous absorption, the impact of the underlying surface as well as clouds and aerosols has received less attention. To reduce the number of monochromatic computations required to obtain a desired accuracy, one may average the inherent optical properties (IOPs) over a spectral band to generate effective or mean IOP values to be used in "quasi-monochromatic" radiative transfer computations. Comparison of radiances produced by computations based on mean (quasi-monochromatic) IOPs with benchmark results in typical shortwave infrared window channels, revealed that while this approach may be sufficient for gaseous absorption, it led to significant errors in the presence spectrally varying surface IOPs, in general, and snow/ice surfaces, in particular. To solve this problem, a new method was developed in which a satellite channel is represented by a few subbands. This new method significantly reduces the error resulting from IOP averaging to be typically less than 1%. An additional correction was also developed to further reduce the error incurred by use of mean gas IOPs for large solar zenith angles to be less than 0.01%.

Aerosol optical depth under "clear" sky conditions derived from sea surface reflection of lidar signals.

There are considerable demands for accurate atmospheric correction of satellite observations of the sea surface or subsurface signal. Surface and sub-surface reflection under "clear" atmospheric conditions can be used to study atmospheric correction for the simplest possible situation. Here "clear" sky means a cloud-free atmosphere with sufficiently small aerosol particles. The "clear" aerosol concept is defined according to the spectral dependence of the scattering cross section on particle size. A 5-year combined CALIPSO and AMSR-E data set was used to derive the aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the lidar signal reflected from the sea surface. Compared with the traditional lidar-retrieved AOD, which relies on lidar backscattering measurements and an assumed lidar ratio, the AOD retrieved through the surface reflectance method depends on both scattering and absorption because it is based on two-way attenuation of the lidar signal transmitted to and then reflected from the surface. The results show that the clear sky AOD derived from the surface signal agrees with the clear sky AOD available in the CALIPSO level 2 database in the westerly wind belt located in the southern hemisphere, but yields significantly higher aerosol loadings in the tropics and in the northern hemisphere.

Radiative transfer simulations of the two-dimensional ocean glint reflectance and determination of the sea surface roughness.

An optimized discrete-ordinate radiative transfer model (DISORT3) with a pseudo-two-dimensional bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) is used to simulate and validate ocean glint reflectances at an infrared wavelength (1036 nm) by matching model results with a complete set of BRDF measurements obtained from the NASA cloud absorption radiometer (CAR) deployed on an aircraft. The surface roughness is then obtained through a retrieval algorithm and is used to extend the simulation into the visible spectral range where diffuse reflectance becomes important. In general, the simulated reflectances and surface roughness information are in good agreement with the measurements, and the diffuse reflectance in the visible, ignored in current glint algorithms, is shown to be important. The successful implementation of this new treatment of ocean glint reflectance and surface roughness in DISORT3 will help improve glint correction algorithms in current and future ocean color remote sensing applications.

Neural network method to correct bidirectional effects in water-leaving radiance.

Ocean color algorithms that rely on "atmospherically corrected" nadir water-leaving radiances to infer information about marine constituents such as the chlorophyll concentration depend on a reliable method to convert the angle-dependent measured radiances from the observation direction to the nadir direction. It is also important to convert the measured radiances to the nadir direction when comparing and merging products from different satellite missions. The standard correction method developed by Morel and coworkers requires knowledge of the chlorophyll concentration. Also, the standard method was developed based on the Case 1 (open ocean) assumption, which makes it unsuitable for Case 2 situations such as turbid coastal waters. We introduce a neural network method to convert the angle-dependent water-leaving radiance (or the corresponding remote sensing reflectance) from the observation direction to the nadir direction. This method relies on neither an "atmospheric correction" nor prior knowledge of the water constituents or the inherent optical properties. It directly converts the remote sensing reflectance from an arbitrary slanted viewing direction to the nadir direction by using a trained neural network. This method is fast and accurate, and it can be easily adapted to different remote sensing instruments. Validation using NuRADS measurements in different types of water shows that this method is suitable for both Case 1 and Case 2 waters. In Case 1 or chlorophyll-dominated waters, our neural network method produces corrections similar to those of the standard method. In Case 2 waters, especially sediment-dominated waters, a significant improvement was obtained compared to the standard method.

Retrieval of snow physical parameters by neural networks and optimal estimation: case study for ground-based spectral radiometer system.

A new retrieval algorithm for estimation of snow grain size and impurity concentration from spectral radiation data is developed for remote sensing applications. A radiative transfer (RT) model for the coupled atmosphere-snow system is used as a forward model. This model simulates spectral radiant quantities for visible and near-infrared channels. The forward RT calculation is, however, the most time-consuming part of the forward-inverse modeling. Therefore, we replaced it with a neural network (NN) function for fast computation of radiances and Jacobians. The retrieval scheme is based on an optimal estimation method with a priori constraints. The NN function was also employed to obtain an accurate first guess in the retrieval scheme. Validation with simulation data shows that a combination of NN techniques and optimal estimation method can provide more accurate retrievals than by using only NN techniques. In addition, validation with in-situ measurements conducted by using ground-based spectral radiometer system shows that comparison between retrieved snow parameters with in-situ measurements is acceptable with satisfactory accuracy. The algorithm provides simultaneous, accurate and fast retrieval of the snow properties. The algorithm presented here is useful for airborne/satellite remote sensing.

Inferring inherent optical properties and water constituent profiles from apparent optical properties.

The BP09 experiment conducted by the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation in the Ligurian Sea in March 2009 provided paired vertical profiles of nadir-viewing radiances L(u)(z) and downward irradiances E(d)(z) and inherent optical properties (IOPs, absorption, scattering and backscattering coefficients). An inversion algorithm was implemented to retrieve IOPs from apparent optical properties (AOPs, radiance reflectance R(L), irradiance reflectance R(E) and diffuse attenuation coefficient K(d)) derived from the radiometric measurements. Then another inversion algorithm was developed to infer vertical profiles of water constituent concentrations, including chlorophyll-a concentration, non-algal particle concentration, and colored dissolved organic matter from the retrieved IOPs based on a bio-optical model. The algorithm was tested on a synthetic dataset and found to give reliable results with an accuracy better than 1%. When the algorithm was applied to the BP09 dataset it was found that good retrievals of IOPs could be obtained for sufficiently deep waters, i.e. for L(u)(z) and E(d)(z) measurements conducted to depths of 50 m or more. This requirement needs to be satisfied in order to obtain a good estimation of the backscattering coefficient. For such radiometric measurements a correlation of 0.88, 0.96 and 0.93 was found between retrieved and measured absorption, scattering and backscattering coefficients, respectively. A comparison between water constituent values derived from the measured IOPs and in-situ measured values, yielded a correlation of 0.80, 0.78, and 0.73 for chlorophyll-a concentration, non-algal particle concentration, and absorption coefficient of colored dissolved organic matter at 443 nm, respectively. This comparison indicates that adjustments to the bio-optical model are needed in order to obtain a better match between inferred and measured water constituent values in the Ligurian Sea using the methodology developed in this paper.

New neural-network-based method to infer total ozone column amounts and cloud effects from multi-channel, moderate bandwidth filter instruments.

A new method is presented based on a radial basis function neural network (RBF-NN) to analyze data obtained by ultraviolet (UV) irradiance instruments. Application of the RBF-NN method to about three years of data obtained by a NILU-UV device, which is a multi-channel, moderate bandwidth filter instrument, revealed that compared to the traditional Look-up table (LUT) method, the RBF-NN method yielded better agreement with a 1% decrease in relative difference and an increase of 0.03 in correlation with total ozone column (TOC) values obtained from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Furthermore, the RBF-NN method retrieved more valid results (daily average values within a meaningful range (200-500 DU)) than the LUT method. Compared with RBF-NN retrievals, TOC values obtained from the OMI are underestimated under cloudy conditions. This finding agrees with conclusions reached by Anton and Loyola (2011).

Comparison of ground-based measurements of solar UV radiation at four sites on the Tibetan Plateau.

We compare results for the UV index (UVI), the total ozone column (TOC), and the radiation modification factor (RMF, being 1 in the absence of clouds and aerosols) at four sites on the Tibetan Plateau. The results were obtained by analyzing ground measurements by multichannel moderate-bandwidth filter instruments for the period July 2008-September 2010, and radiative transfer modeling was used to aid the interpretation of the results. The highest UVI of 20.6 was measured in Tingri (28.7°N; 4335 m). For July, monthly mean UVI values were 14.5 and 12.9 in Tingri and Lhasa (29.7°N; 3683 m), respectively. Generally, the UVI levels in Tingri and Lhasa were higher than in Nagchu (31.5°N; 4510 m) and Linzhi (29.7°N; 2995 m), due to less cloud cover at the former two sites. In 2009, the annual mean UVI and RMF values were 6.8 and 0.7 for Linzhi, 8.8 and 0.92 for Lhasa, 10.5 and 0.92 for Tingri, and 6.7 and 0.7 for Nagchu. Radiative transfer simulations indicate that the latitude difference would correspond to an increase in the UVI of about 0.3 from Nagchu to Tingri; whereas, the altitude difference would correspond to a reduction of about 1.5%, implying that the observed difference is due to the difference in cloud cover. The annual mean TOC values were found to be 260-264 Dobson units (DU) in Lhasa, Linzhi, and Nagchu, and 252 DU in Tingri. TOC values in Lhasa were found to agree within 3% with those derived from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) measurements.

Method of surface topography retrieval by direct solution of sparse weighted seminormal equations.

A new method is presented to estimate the topography of a rough surface. A formulation is provided in which immediate measurements and a priori observations of surface elevation, slope and curvature, are considered simultaneously as a linear algebraic system of finite difference equations. Least squares solutions are computed directly by sparse orthogonal-triangular (QR) factorization of the weighted seminormal equations, an approach made practical for large systems with powerful computational hardware and algorithms that have become available recently. Retrievals are demonstrated from synthetic slope data and from measurements of slope on a rough water surface. The method provides a general approach to retrieving topography from measurements of elevation, slope and curvature.

Stokes scattering matrix for human skin.

We use a layered model of normal human skin based on size distributions of polydisperse spherical particles and their complex refractive indices to compute the Stokes scattering matrix at wavelengths in the visible spectral band. The elements of the Stokes scattering matrix are required in a polarized radiative transfer code for a coupled air-tissue system to compute the polarized reflectance and examine how it is dependent on the vertical structure of the inherent optical properties of skin, including the phase matrix. Thus, the elements of the Stokes scattering matrix can be useful for investigating polarization-dependent light propagation in turbid optical media, such as human skin tissue.

Impact of vertical stratification of inherent optical properties on radiative transfer in a plane-parallel turbid medium.

The atmosphere is often divided into several homogeneous layers in simulations of radiative transfer in plane-parallel media. This artificial stratification introduces discontinuities in the vertical distribution of the inherent optical properties at boundaries between layers, which result in discontinuous radiances and irradiances at layer interfaces, which lead to errors in the radiative transfer simulations. To investigate the effect of the vertical discontinuity of the atmosphere on radiative transfer simulations, a simple two layer model with only aerosols and molecules and no gas absorption is used. The results show that errors larger than 10% for radiances and several percent for irradiances could be introduced if the atmosphere is not layered properly.

Optical transfer diagnosis of pigmented lesions.

BACKGROUND: Optical transfer diagnosis is a novel melanoma detection system that uses morphologic-physiologic mapping. OBJECTIVE: To further evaluate the potential of optical transfer diagnosis for distinguishing benign from malignant pigmented melanocytic neoplasms. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Ninety-four patients with pigmented lesions suggestive of melanoma were referred for optical transfer diagnosis. After lesions were scanned with the camera, they were removed for histopathologic examination by two dermatopathologists each. From the recorded images, morphologic-physiologic maps were created with prediction models of light absorption and scattering by chromophores such as hemoglobin, keratin, and melanin at different epidermal and dermal depths. Entropy and relative entropy values derived from the morphologic-physiologic maps and a set of pure morphologic parameters were analyzed for output prediction of melanoma versus nonmelanoma. Dermoscopic images were reviewed and scored using the color, architecture, symmetry, and homogeneity (CASH) algorithm to assign a value of clinical atypia. RESULTS Of the 118 scanned and biopsied lesions (median CASH score 8), 11 were identified as melanoma or atypical melanocytic hyperplasia consistent with melanoma. For identification of melanomas, optical transfer diagnosis had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 90%. CONCLUSIONS: This technology continues to be a promising adjunct to clinical skin cancer screening.

Optical transfer diagnosis of pigmented lesions: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential of a novel imaging technology, optical transfer diagnosis (OTD), for differentiation of benign from malignant pigmented melanocytic lesions. DESIGN: Patients with pigmented lesions suspicious for melanoma were referred for OTD. After scanning, lesions were biopsied for histopathologic examination, each by two separate dermatopathologists. To create morphologic-physiologic maps, the imaging system used the morphologic and physiologic parameters derived from prediction models of light absorption and scattering by chromophores such as hemoglobin, keratin, and melanin at different epidermal and dermal depths. The relative entropies were analyzed for output prediction of malignancy vs. nonmalignancy. SETTING: General dermatology clinic in a tertiary care academic medical center. PATIENTS: Fifty patients with suspected melanoma. INTERVENTION: OTD of pigmented lesions suspicious for melanoma, followed by biopsies for histopathologic examination. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Histopathologic confirmation of malignant lesions identified by OTD as melanoma. RESULTS: Sixty-three pigmented suspicious lesions were scanned before being biopsied for histopathologic examination by the two dermatopathologists. Of the 63 lesions, five were identified as melanoma and 58 were found to be benign (including three seborrheic keratoses and 55 melanocytic nevi). OTD was able to identify the malignant lesions with 100% sensitivity and 94.8-96.6% specificity. CONCLUSIONS: Further study is indicated, but this technology is a promising adjunct to clinical skin cancer screening. Additionally, if the physiologic prediction models can be validated, OTD may facilitate the noninvasive study of some aspects of cutaneous physiology.

High cloud coverage over melted areas dominates the impact of clouds on the albedo feedback in the Arctic.

Warming in the Arctic is larger than the global average. A primary reason for this Arctic Amplification is the albedo feedback. The contrasting albedo of sea ice and dark melted surface areas is the key component of albedo feedback. Cloud coverage over the changing surface and the response of the clouds to the changing surface conditions will modify the change in planetary albedo when sea ice melts. Space-based lidar measurements provide a unique opportunity for cloud measurements in the Arctic. The response of clouds to the changing sea ice concentration was directly observed. Based on CALIPSO satellite observations of cloud properties, this study found that cloud coverage in ice-free regions in the Arctic linearly increased with the area of ice-free water during the melt seasons in the past 10 years, while sea ice coverage varies significantly year-to-year. The observations suggest that when sea-ice retreats, cloud fraction of the ice-free region remains fixed at nearly 81%. The high cloud coverage over melted areas significantly reduces the albedo feedback. These results indicate that space-based lidar cloud and surface observations of the Arctic can help constrain and improve climate models.

New treatment of strongly anisotropic scattering phase functions: The Delta-M+ method.

The treatment of strongly anisotropic scattering phase functions is still a challenge for accurate radiance computations. The new Delta-M+ method resolves this problem by introducing a reliable, fast, accurate, and easy-to-use Legendre expansion of the scattering phase function with modified moments. Delta-M+ is an upgrade of the widely-used Delta-M method that truncates the forward scattering peak with a Dirac delta function, where the '+' symbol indicates that it essentially matches moments beyond the first M terms. Compared with the original Delta-M method, Delta-M+ has the same computational efficiency, but for radiance computations the accuracy and stability have been increased dramatically.

Spectroscopic measurements of photoinduced processes in human skin after topical application of the hexyl ester of 5-aminolevulinic acid.

Although 5-aminolevulinic acid, ALA, and its derivatives, have been widely studied and applied in clinical photodynamic therapy (PDT), there is still a lack of reliable and non-invasive methods and technologies to evaluate physiological parameters of relevance for the therapy, such as erythema, melanogenesis, and oxygen level. We have investigated the kinetics of these parameters in human skin in vivo during and after PDT with the hexyl ester of ALA, ALA-Hex. Furthermore, the depth of photosensitizer (protoporphyrin IX, PpIX) production after different application times was investigated. It was found that the depth increased with increasing application time of ALA-Hex. We also investigated the depth of PpIX before and after light exposure causing 50% photobleaching at 407 nm. The PpIX localized in superficial layers of the normal tissue was removed during the bleaching. Thus, after bleaching, the remaining PpIX was localized mainly in the deeper layers of normal tissue. We have applied fluorescence emission spectroscopy, fluorescence excitation spectroscopy, and reflectance spectroscopy in the study of the above-mentioned parameters. In conclusion, fluorescence excitation spectroscopy and reflectance spectroscopy are simple, useful, reliable, and noninvasive techniques in the evaluation of the processes taking place in human skin in vivo during and after PDT. Using these methods we were able to quantify melanogenesis, O2 level, erythema, vasoconstriction, and vasodilatation.

The importance of the depth distribution of melanin in skin for DNA protection and other photobiological processes.

Melanin pigments are important regulators for the evolution of essential functions of human skin. The concentration of melanin, as well as its depth distribution, is strongly affected by ultraviolet radiation. In un-tanned skin, melanin pigments are found only in the basal layer of the epidermis, while in tanned skin it is distributed throughout the epidermis. So far, mainly the amount of melanin, and not its distribution, has been considered in view of skin photobiology. With an advanced radiative transfer model we investigate, for the first time, how the depth distribution of melanin influences the amount of ultraviolet radiation that reaches living cells in the epidermis, and thus can damage the DNA in the cells. The simulations are performed for average pigmented skins (type III-IV). A surprisingly large factor, up to 12, is found between the ultraviolet protection of skin with melanin distributed throughout the epidermis, and skin with melanin only in the basal layer of the epidermis. We also show that the synthesis of previtamin D3, in skin, can vary with more than 100% if the depth distribution of melanin is changed, while the degradation of folate in dermal blood is almost un-affected by variations in the melanin depth distribution.