SENSITIVITY OF SURFACE REFLECTANCE RETRIEVAL TO UNCERTAINTIES IN AEROSOL OPTICAL-PROPERTIES

We formulate a procedure to investigate the sensitivity of surface ref lectances retrieved from satellite sensor data to uncertainties in aer osol optical properties. Aerosol optical characteristics encompassed i n the study include the aerosol optical depth, the Junge parameter (i. e., spectral dependence), and the imaginary part of the refractive ind ex (i.e., aerosol absorption). The study includes both clear and hazy atmospheric conditions, wavelengths of 0.550 and 0.870 mum, three sola r zenith angles, and five viewing geometries. Key results are presente d graphically in terms of accuracy requirements on the aerosol propert y under consideration for a 5% uncertainty in predicted surface reflec tance.