Integrated ground-based and satellite remote sensing of the Earth surface and atmosphere in East and West Antarctica with lidar and radiometric systems

We have developed remote ground-based and satellite methods, hardware and software for studying atmospheric aerosol, clouds and underlying surface in Eastern and Western Antarctica. Ground-based equipment includes: 1) CIMEL solar spectrum photometer, which measures the spectrum of solar radiation transmitted and scattered by the atmosphere, 2) multi-wavelength Raman lidar, which measures the vertical backscatter profile, 3) albedometer, which measures the spectral albedo of the surface, primarily snow, 4) a reflectometer that measures the directional spectral reflectance of snow. Ground-based measurement data were integrated with data from satellite radiometers MODIS or OLCI and the satellite lidar CALIOP. A synergy of the manifold data allows retrieval of various atmosphere and surface characteristics such as the aerosol optical thickness of the atmosphere, profiles of concentration of the fine and coarse aerosol fractions, spatial distribution of the effective snow grain size, fraction of naked rocks etc. An experimental implementation of the technique has been made to investigate the regions of the Antarctic Peninsula (Turkish Research Station) and Enderby Land (Mount Vechernyaya, Belarusian Research Station) and to compare the characteristics of the atmosphere and Earth's surface in these regions.

This study is a result of the bilateral cooperation project between the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NAS).