Aerosol phase function modeling in Saharan dust invasions using the ratio AVHRR/NOAA Ch1/Ch2 Original Research Article

Some authors have pointed out that the mineral dust could have an important effect in the atmosphere radiative properties in oceanic regions where this component is the principal aerosol constituent (mainly in regions close to arid zones). The radiative characterization of this component is a global scale problem, so it is necessary to use satellites techniques. One of the most useful parameter to study the dynamic and radiative properties of the mineral dust is the aerosol optical depth (AOD). To minimize the possible error sources, in order to give this parameter, it is necessary to work with a realistic aerosol phase function. We propose a Henyey-Greenstein type phase function calculated only by the ratio AVHRR/NOAA Ch1/Ch2, whose parameters have been optimized to situations of mineral dust invasions. This proposed phase function has been obtained by radiometric measurements of ground-based instruments.