CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS
Measurements > Atmosphere >
Aerosols >
Aerosol effective radius (column/profile)


Measurement Definition*: Vertical profile of the size distribution of aerosol, assimilated to spheres of the same volume. Requested in the troposphere (assumed height: 12 km) and as columnar average - Physical unit: [ mm ] - Accuracy unit: [ mm ].
InstrumentStatus/
Accuracy
Instrument DescriptionMeasurement TechnologyTimeline
AMI
Advanced Meteorological Imager
Operational
Continuous monitoring capability for the near real-time generation of high-resolution meteorological products and long-term change analysis of land/sea surface temperature and cloud coverage.n/a
AVHRR/3
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/3
Operational
Measurements of land and sea surface temperature, cloud cover, snow and ice cover, soil moisture and vegetation indices. Data also used for volcanic eruption monitoring.n/a
MISR
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer
Operational
Measurements of global surface albedo, aerosol and vegetation properties. Also provides multi-angle bidirectional data (1% angle-to-angle accuracy) for cloud cover and reflectances at the surface and aerosol opacities. Global and local modes.Multi-channel/direction/polarisation radiometer
MODIS
MODerate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
Operational
Data on biological and physical processes on the surface of the Earth and in the lower atmosphere, and on global dynamics. Surface temperatures of land and ocean, chlorophyll fluorescence, land cover measurements, cloud cover (day and night).n/a
MSU-MR
Low-resolution multispectral scanning imager-radiometer
Operational
Parameters of clouds, snow, ice and land cover, vegetation, surface temperature, fire detection.n/a
OLCI
Ocean and Land Colour Imager
Operational
Marine and land services.n/a
Sounder
Sounder
Operational
Atmospheric soundings and data on atmospheric stability and thermal gradient winds.n/a
GEOXO Atmospheric Composition
GEO Extended Operations Atmospheric Composition
Being developed
 n/a
HARP2
Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter
Being developed
Polarimeter for measuring aerosol optical properties, clouds and aerosol types.Multi-channel/direction/polarisation radiometer
SPEXone
Spectro-Polarimeter for Exploration
Being developed
Polarimeter for measuring aerosol optical properties, clouds and aerosol types. Multi-angle spectro-polarimetry by spectral modulation technology. Distribution and detailed micro-phyiscal properties of atmospheric aerosol. Direct and indirect aerosol radiative forcing and their impact on climate.Multi-channel/direction/polarisation radiometer
MSI (EarthCARE)
Multi-Spectral Imager (EarthCARE)
Approved
Observation of cloud properties and aerosol (aerosols to be confirmed).n/a
Advanced MSU-MR
Advanced Multispectral scanning imager-radiometer
Proposed
Parameters of clouds, snow, ice and land cover, vegetation, surface temperature, fire detection.n/a
* Description adapted from WMO.