Aerosol remote sensing from moving platforms with the FUBISS radiometers

Aerosol particles have an important impact on the surface net radiation budget by direct scattering and absorption (direct aerosol effect) of solar radiation, and also by influencing cloud formation processes (semi-direct and indirect aerosol effects). To study the former, a multispectral multiangle spectrometer system for flexible use on moving platforms has been developed at the Institute for Space Sciences. It enables simultaneous measurements of the direct solar irradiance, the solar aureole radiance, and the zenith sky radiance in the UV, visible and NIR spectral region. So far, it has been used on various international campaigns, either mounted on a Cessna 207T, on the German research icebreaker FS Polarstern, or based on the ground.