Mapping the twilight zone

  • Scientific understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions can profit from an analysis of the transition regions between pure aerosol and pure clouds as detected in satellite data. This study identifies and evaluates pixels in this region by analysing the residual areas of aerosol and cloud products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Radiometer (MODIS) satellite sensor. These pixels are expected to represent the "twilight zone" or transition zone between aerosols and clouds. In the analysis period (February and August, 2007–2011), about 20% of all pixels are discarded by both MODIS aerosol and cloud retrievals ("Lost Pixels"). The reflective properties and spatial distribution of Lost Pixels are predominantly in between pure aerosol and cloud. The high amount of discarded pixels underlines the relevance of analyzing the transition zone as a relevant part of the Earth’s radiation budget and the importance of considering them in research on aerosol-cloud interactions.

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Metadaten
Author:Katharina SchwarzGND, Jan CermakGND, Julia FuchsGND, Hendrik AndersenORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:294-59150
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9060577
Parent Title (English):Remote sensing
Subtitle (English):what we are missing between clouds and aerosols
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2018/07/12
Date of first Publication:2017/06/09
Publishing Institution:Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsbibliothek
Tag:Open Access Fonds
MODIS; aerosol-cloud interactions; aerosols; clouds; radiation; transition zone
Volume:9
Issue:6
First Page:577-1
Last Page:577-0
Note:
Article Processing Charge funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the Open Access Publication Fund of Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
Institutes/Facilities:Geographisches Institut
Dewey Decimal Classification:Geschichte und Geografie / Geografie, Reisen
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
faculties:Fakultät für Geowissenschaften
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY 4.0 - Attribution 4.0 International