GACP Projects
Investigations of Radiative Forcing of Indonesian Biomass Burning using GMS Radiance Measurements
Ming-Dah Chou, Principal Investigator
Yoram Kaufman, Co - Investigator
Abstract: The objective of this proposal is to assess the effect of tropical biomass burning in Southeast Asia on the solar and thermal IR radiation budgets at the top of the atmosphere using the albedos and brightness temperatures measured by Japan's Geostationary Meteorological Satellite-5 (GMS-5). During the months of September and October, 1997, the largest forest fires in history caused by human beings and augmented by the dry climate associated with a strong El Nino occurred in Indonesia and choked cities in Southeast Asia. The troposphere was loaded with aerosols of biomass burning extending from Indonesia to Thailand and from Malaysia to the Philippines. While the GMS-5 does not have the spectral information and accuracy as the new EOS MODIS instrument, it is the only sensor that can provide the diurnal cycle of the radiative forcing of the smoke. The period of this proposed study will start from September 1997, when the collection and processing of GMS data at Goddard began, and will extend for three years so that the radiation budgets of Southeast Asia during the period of the big fires can be compared with that during normal conditions. Components of the proposed research will include:
- Identification of cloud-free regions;
- Assessment of the aerosol effect on albedo;
- Retrieval of aerosol optical thickness and mass loading;
- Estimation of cloud amount;
- Estimation of the direct radiative forcing of aerosols;
- Analysis of temporal and spatial distributions of the direct aerosol radiative forcing.
We also plan to use the EOS MODIS results and the surface radiation measurements during the GEWEX Asian Monsoon Experiment-Tropical (GAME-T) and the South China Sea Monsoon Experiment (SCSMEX) field campaigns from April through August, 1998, to augment this research. We anticipate that the proposed study will provide us information on the extent of radiative forcing due to biomass burning we have never experienced before.
Based on the results of this proposed research, methodologies will be developed for retrieving aerosol properties and radiative forcing from the geostationary satellite radiance measurements over the past decades, which is the ultimate objective of this NRA.
