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Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Recent Progress in Atmospheric Remote Sensing

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Atmospheric Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2025 | Viewed by 2939

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Ontario Technical University, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada
Interests: clouds; cold weather systems; cloud microphysics; precipitation; arctic weather; aviation meteorology; aircraft and ground based in-situ and remote sensing observations of the atmosphere, including satellites, radars, lidars, as well as microwave radiometers
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Remote sensing of aerosols plays a pivotal role in understanding and monitoring Earth’s atmosphere. It offers valuable insights and applications into air quality, cloud and fog formation, climate change, and human health. Aerosols can range from dust and smoke particles to pollutants emitted from industrial activities and vehicle exhausts, and cover ranges from a few nm up to about 10 microns. Given their pervasive presence and potential impacts on the ecosystem, remote sensing techniques can provide a unique vantage point for studying aerosols from the micron scale to a global scale.

One of the primary reasons for remote sensing of aerosols is that its contribution in assessing air quality can range from particle to synoptic scales. Aerosols can pose significant risks to human health and the ecosystem; therefore, it needs to be studied in detail. Remote sensing instruments on satellites, as well as ground-based in situ sensors, can retrieve aerosol physical characteristics and track aerosol dispersion while identifying their sources. Collection of aerosol observations provides monitoring conditions as well as  developing effective strategies for air pollution control that can assist in implementing targeted regulations, leading to improved public health outcomes.

Aerosols also play a vital role in climate change. They scatter and absorb as well as emit sunlight, modifying the Earth’s radiative balance. Remote sensing techniques enable the estimation of aerosol optical properties and particle size distribution. This information, together with numerical models, helps in quantifying the radiative forcing of aerosols directly or indirectly.  Observations and retrievals, as well as numerical model simulations, can lead to better assessments of aerosols’ impact on the Earth’s energy budget through temperature patterns and other physical parameters such as particle spectral mean size.  Aerosol forcing through direct and indirect impacts on climate change remains the greatest uncertainty and challenge in climate modelling and cloud formation.

The aim of this collection is to highlight (1) recent technologies being used in atmospheric remote sensing of aerosols, and (2) how these new observing systems’ measurements can be used in the analysis of cloud and climate systems, as well as ecosystems.

We are especially interested in articles focused on new applications and technologies in

  • Satellite based aerosol observations and systems;
  • Remote sensing platforms, retrieval techniques, and aerosol analysis;
  • Aerosol in situ sensors/observations;
  • Lidar observations;
  • Polarimetry;
  • Aerosol–cloud interactions;
  • Neural networks and AI;
  • Aerosol impact assessment related to climate change and weather.

Dr. Gorden Videen
Prof. Dr. Ismail Gultepe
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aerosols
  • smoke
  • ash
  • dust
  • ice crystals
  • clouds
  • polarimetry
  • lidar
  • satellites
  • neural networks and AI

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 6801 KiB  
Article
Considering the Effects of Horizontal Heterogeneities in Satellite-Based Large-Scale Statistics of Cloud Optical Properties
by Tamás Várnai and Alexander Marshak
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(18), 3388; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16183388 - 12 Sep 2024
Viewed by 585
Abstract
This paper explores a new approach to improving satellite measurements of cloud optical thickness and droplet size by considering the radiative impacts of horizontal heterogeneity in boundary-layer cumulus clouds. In contrast to the usual bottom-up approach that retrieves cloud properties for individual pixels [...] Read more.
This paper explores a new approach to improving satellite measurements of cloud optical thickness and droplet size by considering the radiative impacts of horizontal heterogeneity in boundary-layer cumulus clouds. In contrast to the usual bottom-up approach that retrieves cloud properties for individual pixels and subsequently compiles large-scale statistics, the proposed top-down approach first determines the effect of 3D heterogeneity on large-scale cloud statistics and then distributes the overall effects to individual pixels. The potential of this approach is explored by applying a regression-based scheme to a simulated dataset containing over 3000 scenes generated through large eddy simulations. The results show that the new approach can greatly reduce the errors in widely used bispectral retrievals that assume horizontal homogeneity. Errors in large-scale mean values and cloud variability are typically reduced by factors of two to four for 1 km resolution retrievals—and the reductions remain significant even for a 4 km resolution. The calculations also reveal that over vegetation heterogeneity-caused droplet size retrieval biases are often opposite to the biases found over oceans. Ultimately, the proposed approach shows potential for improving the accuracy of both old and new satellite datasets. Full article
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25 pages, 6444 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Evaluation of Aerosol Optical Properties in the Levantine Region: A Comparative Analysis of AERONET and Aqua/MODIS
by Ayse Gokcen Isik, S. Yeşer Aslanoğlu and Gülen Güllü
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(14), 2651; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16142651 - 20 Jul 2024
Viewed by 795
Abstract
The focus on aerosol analysis in the Levantine Region is driven by climate-change impacts, the region’s increasing urban development and industrial activities, and its geographical proximity to major dust-source areas. This study conducts a comparative analysis of aerosol optical depth data from Aqua/MODIS [...] Read more.
The focus on aerosol analysis in the Levantine Region is driven by climate-change impacts, the region’s increasing urban development and industrial activities, and its geographical proximity to major dust-source areas. This study conducts a comparative analysis of aerosol optical depth data from Aqua/MODIS and AERONET during different periods between 2003 and 2023 at four stations: IMS-METU-ERDEMLI (Mersin/Türkiye) (2004–2019), CUT-TEPAK (Limassol/Cyprus) (2010–2023), Cairo_EMA_2 (Cairo/Egypt) (2010–2023), and SEDE_BOKER (Sede Boker/Israel) (2003–2023). The objective is to evaluate the variability and reliability of AOD measurements between satellite and ground-based observations and to determine how well they represent regional climatology. The highest percentage of measurements within the expected error envelope was observed at the IMS-METU-ERDEMLI station, indicating the best agreement between MODIS and AERONET data at this location. The Seasonal-Trend Decomposition using Loess (STL) method revealed consistent spring and summer peaks influenced by dust transport from the Sahara and the Middle East, with lower values in winter. The study also considers the influence of cloud fraction on MODIS measurements and includes aerosol classification. A statistically significant slight positive trend in AOD values was identified at the IMS-METU-ERDEMLI station. Conversely, no significant trends were detected at the other stations. The results of this study agree with those of previous research on the impact of long-range dust transport on regional aerosol loadings, emphasizing the importance of integrating satellite and ground-based observations. Full article
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16 pages, 3254 KiB  
Article
Synergy between Short-Range Lidar and In Situ Instruments for Determining the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Lidar Ratio
by Andres Esteban Bedoya-Velásquez, Romain Ceolato, Gloria Titos, Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda, Andrea Casans, Diego Patrón, Sol Fernández-Carvelo, Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado and Lucas Alados-Arboledas
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(9), 1583; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16091583 - 29 Apr 2024
Viewed by 965
Abstract
Short-range elastic backscatter lidar (SR-EBL) systems are remote sensing instruments for studying low atmospheric boundary layer processes. This work presents a field campaign oriented to filling the gap between the near-surface aerosol processes regarding aerosol radiative properties and connecting them with the atmospheric [...] Read more.
Short-range elastic backscatter lidar (SR-EBL) systems are remote sensing instruments for studying low atmospheric boundary layer processes. This work presents a field campaign oriented to filling the gap between the near-surface aerosol processes regarding aerosol radiative properties and connecting them with the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), centering attention on the residual layer and the ABL transition periods. A Colibri Aerosol Lidar (CAL) instrument, based on the short-range lidar with high spatio-temporal resolution, was used for the first time in the ACTRIS AGORA facility (Andalusian Global Observatory of the Atmosphere) in Granada (Spain). This study showed the possibility of combining lidar and in situ measurements in the lowermost 150 m. The results address, on the one hand, the characterization of the short-range lidar for developing a method to find the calibration constant of the system and to correct the incomplete overlap to further data exploitation. On the other hand, relevant radiative properties such as the temporal series of the aerosol lidar ratio and extinction coefficient were quantified. The campaign was divided in three different periods based on the vehicular emission peak in the early mornings, namely, before, during, and after the emission peak. For before and after the emission peak data classification, aerosol properties presented closer values; however, large variability was obtained after the emission peak reaching the maximum values of extinction and a lidar ratio up to 51.5 ± 11.9 (Mm)1 and 36.0 ± 10.5 sr, respectively. During the emission peaks, the values reached for extinction and lidar ratio were up to 136.8 ± 26.5 (Mm)1 and 119.0 ± 22.7 sr, respectively. Full article
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