Observations of Aerosols above Clouds and their Interactions

The Airborne Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI) is a passive remote, airborne pushbroom camera developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and engineers from the University of Arizona and the University of Texas. AirMSPI operates across 8 spectral bands (355, 380, 445, 470, 555, 660, 865, 935 nm) to provide multiangle radiance and linear polarization imagery which can be used to retrieve aerosol and cloud microphysical properties. AirMSPI has a spatial resolution of 10-25 m depending on the scan mode and typically provides image frames at a rate of 23 Hz. AirMSPI was designed to fly on the nose of NASA’s ER-2 aircraft and has been utilized in several aerosol and cloud investigations.

The Enhanced MODIS Airborne Simulator (eMAS) is an airborne cross-track scanning spectrometer operated by the Airborne Sensor Facility (ASF) at NASA Ames Research Center. eMAS collects high-resolution imagery of cloud and surface features which can be used to help develop and test algorithms for MODIS satellite observations. It operates across 38 spectral channels at 0.445-14.1 µm wavelengths and has a scan rate of 6.25 Hz. eMAS has a spatial resolution of 50 m and a swath width of 37.25 km at an altitude of 20 km.

The Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) is an airborne radiometer developed by the Ames Atmospheric Radiation Group. It provides remotely sensed measurements of solar spectral irradiance in the troposphere. SSFR operates across the 300-2150 nm wavelength range and has a spectral resolution of 8-12 nm. It has a typical data collection rate of 1 Hz and has a radiometric accuracy of 3%.

The Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) is an airborne, passive polarimeter developed by SpecTIR Corporation. It measures total radiance and linear polarization across 9 spectral bands in the visible and infrared wavelengths (410-2250 nm). These measurements can be used to derive aerosol and cloud properties. RSP has a time resolution of 0.8 seconds, a field of view of 14 mrad, and a horizontal resolution of about 100 m at an altitude of 5 km.

If instrument model information is not available, can use this instrument entry for temperature, pressues, wind speed, wind direction, humidity

The Second Generation High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL-2) is an airborne lidar developed by the NASA Langley Research Center. HSRL-2 measures aerosol backscatter at the 355, 532, and 1064 nm wavelengths and aerosol extinction at the 355 and 532 nm wavelengths. It has a horizontal resolution of 1-2 km and a vertical resolution of 15 m, and it takes measurements roughly every 0.5 seconds. It replaced the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL).