Title page for ETD etd-165711489632471

Type of Document

Dissertation

Author

Haeffelin, Martial P. A.

URN

etd-165711489632471

Title

A Study of Earth Radiation Budget Radiometric Channel Performance and Data Interpretation Protocols

Degree

PhD

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name	Title
Brogniez, G.
Kandel, R. S.
Legrand, M.
Scott, Elaine P.
VanLandingham, Hugh F.
Mahan, James Robert	Committee Chair

Keywords

earth radiation budget
remote sensing
radiometric channels
monte-carlo ray trace
temporal sampling
ERBE ISCCP data

Date of Defense

1996-08-27

Availability

unrestricted

Abstract

Two aspects of the study of the Earth radiation budget

and the effects of clouds on our climate system are

considered in this dissertation: instrumentation and

data interpretation. Numerical models have been

developed to characterize the optical/thermal-radiative

behavior, the dynamic electrothermal response and

the structural thermal transients of radiometric

channels. These models, applied to a satellite-borne

scanning radiometer, are used to determine the

instrument point spread function and the potential for

optical and thermal-radiative contamination of the

signal due to out-of-field radiation and emission from

the radiometer structure. The capabilities of the model

are demonstrated by scanning realistic Earth scenes.

In addition, the optical/thermal-radiative model is used

for the development of an infrared field radiometer to

interpret results from the experimental characterization

of the instrument. The model allowed the sensitivity of

the instrument response to assembly uncertainties to

be determined. Data processing consists of converting

radiometric data into estimates of the flux at the top of

the atmosphere. Primary error sources are associated

with the procedures used to compensate for

unsampled data. The time interpolation algorithm

applied to a limited number of observations can

produce significantly biased estimates of monthly

mean fluxes. A diurnal interpolation protocol using

correlative ISCCP cloudiness data is developed to

compensate for sparse temporal sampling of Earth

radiation budget data. The bias is shown to be

significantly reduced in regions where the variability of

the cloud cover is well accounted for by ISCCP data.

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