Remote Sensing of Clouds and Aerosols: Techniques and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

The remote sensing of clouds and aerosols is of central importance for studying climate system processes and changes. Reliable information on climate-relevant parameters, such as aerosol and cloud optical thickness, layer height, particle size, liquid or ice water path, and vertical particulate matter columns, is required. A number of challenges and unsolved problems remain in regard to algorithms and their applications. This includes the remote sensing of clouds and aerosols with respect to 3D effects, the remote sensing of polluted and mixed clouds, the combination of ground-based and satellite-based systems, and the creation of long-term uniform global records.

This Special Issue is aimed at the discussion of current developments, challenges, and opportunities in aerosol and cloud remote sensing using active and passive remote sensing systems. The Special Issue collects an expanded version of the papers published in session AS3.29 of The General Assembly 2024 of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The best contributions from leading experts in these fields of study are expanded into full journal articles, collected, and presented. Other researchers and practitioners who are unable to attend this meeting are also invited to submit their original manuscripts on the topics covered in this Special Issue.

This Special Issue is focused on the latest developments in cloud and aerosol remote sensing. We therefore invite papers on the following topics:

• Radiative transfer modeling of polluted and mixed-phase clouds;
• Particle scattering measurements and modeling;
• Development of cloud and aerosol retrieval algorithms;
• The derivation of aerosol and cloud  products for various (i.e., passive and/or active) satellite, airborne, and/or ground-based remote sensing instruments;
• Application of remote sensing observations to characterize aerosol and cloud properties;
• Aerosol–cloud interactions;
• Climatic effects of aerosols and clouds.

Dr. Alexander Kokhanovsky
Dr. Linlu Mei
Dr. Yasmin Aboel Fetouh
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.