Conference proceeding
Scientist-Teacher-Student Partnerships For Aerosol Optical Thickness Measurements In Support Of Ground Validation Programs For Remote Sensing Spacecraft
54th International Astronautical Congress; Bremen; Germany; 28 Sept.-3 Oct. 2003
28 Sep 2003
Abstract
Satellite-based retrievals of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) depend on mathematical models that interpret sunlight reflected from the Earth/atmosphere system. The best way to assess the performance of aerosol retrievals is to compare space-based data with ground-based data that include not just measurements of AOT, but also descriptions of sky and meteorological conditions (metadata). Automated systems such as AERONET provide the former, but not the latter. The GLOBE Program Aerosol Monitoring Project provides AOT at 505 nm and 625 mn, using handheld sun photometers developed especially for this program. The project protocol also requires reporting of air temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity, cloud type and amount, and sky color and haziness. The paper presents a series of aerosol measurements made by GLOBE students during spring and summer, 2003, in Washington, DC, USA, and Cuxhaven, Germany. Measurements are timed to coincide with overflights of NASA's Terra and Aqua spacecraft. Comparisons between GLOBE measurements and aerosol retrievals from the MODIS instrument are strikingly similar to comparisons of MODIS data with other ground-based aerosol measurements, demonstrating that working partnerships among scientists, teachers, and students provide opportunities for geographically dispersed research that is impractical for scientists to undertake by themselves.
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Details
- Title
- Scientist-Teacher-Student Partnerships For Aerosol Optical Thickness Measurements In Support Of Ground Validation Programs For Remote Sensing Spacecraft
- Creators
- David BrooksFrank NiepoldGianna D'EmilioJordan GlistGeorg HatterscheidSylvana MartinKatharina DedeIsabel Neumann
- Publication Details
- 54th International Astronautical Congress; Bremen; Germany; 28 Sept.-3 Oct. 2003
- Conference
- 54th International Astronautical Congress, 54th (Bremen, Germany, 28 Sep 2003 - 03 Oct 2003)
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- [Retired Faculty]
- Identifiers
- 991019173806804721