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Atmospheric Remote Sensing

A section of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292).

Section Information

Background and Aim

The atmosphere and atmospheric processes play a crucial role in life on our planet. Important atmospheric parameters include temperature, pressure, wind, precipitable water, and atmospheric components including clouds, aerosols, and trace gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ammonia, and volatile organic compounds. All atmospheric components interact with each other, as well as with the solar radiation, surface, and biosphere, and play various roles in atmospheric chemistry, climate and climate change, air quality, and many other aspects. Their concentrations often vary on time scales from seconds to days, spatial scales from local to global, and with the seasons. Knowledge on atmospheric aerosol, clouds, and trace gases is of importance for many branches of modern science and technology. In particular, this information is of crucial importance for understanding the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles, socioeconomic impacts such as renewable energy, degradation of materials and cultural heritage, health issues, food production, land, road, and ship traffic and air quality management, the development of adaptation strategies for climate change, etc. Atmospheric composition data are available from ground-based in situ and airborne measurements, including remote sensing, sometimes with a high degree of sophistication and temporal resolution, but with limited representativeness in a spatial sense. Satellite remote sensing can provide the spatial variation of atmospheric variables, using the same sensor and technique to retrieve the desired information, over the whole planet, but with less detail. The application of ground-based, airborne, and satellite-based remote sensing requires the development of sophisticated instruments, fit-for-purpose, retrieval algorithms, big-data processing, and tools for presentation, analysis, and interpretation. These include radiative transfer and chemical transport models.

The aim of Atmospheric Remote Sensing is to offer a platform to discuss the use of remote sensing to improve our knowledge and understanding of the atmosphere and atmospheric processes in the widest sense. Atmospheric Remote Sensing solicits research papers presenting the development of remote sensing instruments, techniques, and retrieval algorithms, their validation and evaluation, and in particular, the application of remote sensing data and techniques in studies leading to a better understanding of atmospheric processes.

Scope

Sensor and technological development:

Development and application of instruments for atmospheric remote sensing: satellite, airborne, and ground-based.
Active/passive sensors: lidar, radar/radiometers, and spectrometers.
Hyperspectral remote sensing.
Retrieval algorithms, radiative transfer models; sensor synergy.
New techniques and applications.
Validation and evaluation.
Image processing.
Data processing, presentation, distribution, interpretation.
Machine learning.
Big data.

Applications and process studies:

Solar and terrestrial radiation: Earth radiation budget, UV radiation levels, chemical processes, visibility, scattering and absorption.
Climate and climate change: time series, data assimilation, forecasting.
Air quality studies: aerosols, trace gases, and their interactions; new particle formation; atmospheric pollution transport and large-scale circulation.
Spatial variations: sources, sinks; top-down emission estimates.
Meteorological parameters: temperature, wind, boundary layer height, precipitation, lightning, etc.
Cloud properties.
Ozone measurements and interpretation; ozone holes.
Applications to atmosphere/biosphere/land/ocean/lakes/ interactions.
Hydrological cycle, aerosol–cloud–radiation interaction, precipitation.
Volcanic eruptions and their effect on atmospheric composition.
Long time series and their temporal variation: time series analysis.
Applications: renewable energy, food production, effects on cultural heritage and material degradation, adaptation and planning.
Urban pollution and adaptation.