Influence of observation angle change on satellite retrieval of aerosol optical depth

Abstract Use of multi-angle sensors, which can perform ground observations in different view directions, provides an important technical means to acquire more comprehensive and detailed remote sensing information. This study explored the effect of angle changes on satellite-based aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieval using 2016–2018 Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) data in the Yangtze River Delta. The Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface reflectance determined by the MODIS V5.2 algorithm and MODIS BRDF data are used to obtain MISR surface reflectance at different angles after a spectral conversion between MODIS and MISR, and then MISR AOD with different angles were retrieved based on the MISR surface reflectance at different angles. Moreover, the errors and their formation mechanism in retrieving AOD using MISR remote sensing data at different angles were analyzed based on the Global Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) ground observations. We used six indicators, including correlation coefficient (R), significant level (P value), mean absolute error (MAE), mean relative error (MRE) root mean square error (RMSE) and relative mean bias (RMB), and AERONET AOD is used to verify the MISR AOD. The results show that at Taihu and Xuzhou stations, the highest R values are 0.81 (Aa AOD) and 0.75 (An AOD), and the minimum RMSE values at Taihu and Xuzhou-CUMT stations are 0.11 (Aa AOD) and 0.20 (An AOD), respectively. Incorrect surface reflectance measurement is the root cause of the angle effect in MISR AOD retrieval. With the same surface reflectance deviation, the larger the MISR observation angle, the closer the retrieved MISR AOD is to the AOD observed by AERONET. The AOD retrieval of the forward observation angle is closer to AERONET AOD than that of backward observation angle, and the retrieved error is greatest at the vertical angle (nadir). Therefore, sensors for vertical ground observation are not suitable for AOD retrieval, and sensors in non-vertical directions, especially forward to the ground, are more favorable to MISR AOD retrieval.