Vertical variation of dust and its impact on the top of the atmosphere brightness temperature in the midwave infrared

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the vertical distribution of dust and its impact on the top of the atmosphere radiance and associated remotely sensed thermal variability in the midwave infrared wavelengths. Due to the inconsistent availability and coincidence of in-situ data with dust events, model data was used to identify the vertical dust regions. The Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System global aerosol model was used to determine mass concentraion and vertical extent of dust. Mass concentration was converted to extinction and individual dust events were analyzed to characterize the vertical distribution, extinction, and optical depth. The average height was defined for specific dust regions of Iraq and Korea. This value was used to determine the impact of the dust layer on the top of the atmosphere radiance and brightness temperature in the wavelengths of interest. Radiative transfer software was used to determine the top of the atmosphere radiance of the modeled dust atmosphere. Resultant brightness temperature was calculated to obtain the thermal characteristics of the dust layer and associated atmosphere. The vertical distribution of the dust layer was varied with fixed atmospheric components to gain insight into the resultant variation of radiance and subsequent brightness temperature to provide a set of possible values for a regionally specific dust event.