Abstract
ADEOS/POLDER (POLarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectance) provides the multi-angle data of radiance and polarization of solar radiation reflected by the earth atmosphere-surface system in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths. This paper describes a procedure to extract aerosol characteristics over the ocean on a global scale from POLDER data. Our algorithm is achieved in practice using a look-up table which is compiled based on multiple scattering simulations in an atmosphere-sea surface model.
The obtained daily local- and/or monthly mean global- maps present the Angstrom exponent and the optical thickness of aerosols. From these aerosol maps, it can be seen that:
1) the specific feature of maritime aerosols is shown,
2) the continental aerosols are blown over the ocean, e.g. in the north-west Pacific Ocean in spring.
