OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF ASIAN DUST AEROSOL DERIVED FROM SEAWIFS AND LIDAR OBSERVATIONS: A CASE STUDY OF DUST OVER CLOUDS

Asian dust aerosol layer of 4-6 km altitude accompanied by low clouds was observed by LIDAR and sky-radiometer in Tokyo urban area on April 10, 2001. To synthesize the top of atmosphere (TOA) reflectance, radiative transfer simulation conducted assuming aerosol/cloud vertical structure and aerosol size distribution that were modeled after the ground observations. The refractive index of Asian dust is derived from a laboratory measurement of sampled Chinese soil particles. The synthesized TOA reflectance is compared to the SeaWiFS-derived one sampled at the low cloud pixels whose airmass is the same as the one passed at the observation site. While the two TOA reflectances compare generally well with few percent difference in reflectance, possible sources of the discrepancy are discussed.