Variations of the outgoing radiation due to the variability of the properties of atmospheric aerosols

Abstract

The contribution of atmospheric aerosols on the variation of outgoing radiation is estimated on the basis of an aerosol ensemble model, whose optical properties are defined through relative humidity and range of visibility. The influence of the albedo of the underlying surface is also taken into account. It is show n that the variations of outgoing radiation fluxes may reach tens of percent and therefore they must be taken into consideration during the solution of practical problems of remote sensing. In the infrared spectral region, the changes of outgoing thermal radiation may range from some small percentage up to the order of the value. Simple estimates show that more correct accounting for the effect of aerosol particles improves the accuracy of determining the atmospheric temperature by 0.1 to 0.2º and that of the underlying surface by 0.2 to 0.3º.