SENSITIVITY OF MULTIANGLE REMOTE-SENSING OBSERVATIONS TO AEROSOL SPHERICITY

Multiangle, multispectral remote sensing observations, such as those a nticipated from the Earth Observing System (EOS) multiangle imaging sp ectroradiometer (MISR), can distinguish spherical from nonspherical pa rticles over calm ocean for mineral-dust-like particles with the range of sizes and column amounts expected under natural conditions. The ab ility to make such distinctions is critical if remote sensing of atmos pheric aerosol properties is to provide significant new contributions to our understanding of the global-scale, clear-sky solar radiation ba lance. According to theoretical simulations the measurements can retri eve column optical depth for nonspherical particles to an accuracy of at least 0.05 or 10%, whichever is larger. In addition, three to four distinct size groups between 0.1 and 2.0 microns effective radius can be identified at most latitudes.