Retrieval of aerosol optical properties over the Beijing area using POLDER/PARASOL satellite polarization measurements

Aerosol optical properties over Beijing and Xianghe under several typical weather conditions(clear sky, light haze, heavy pollution and dust storm) are derived from POLDER (POLarization andDirectionality of the Earths Reflectances)/PARASOL (Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances forAtmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar) multi-directional, multi-spectral polarizedsignals using a more reliable retrieval algorithm as proposed in this paper. The results are compared withthose of the operational retrieval algorithm of POLDER/PARASOL group and the ground-based AERONET (AErosolRObotic NETwork)/PHOTONS (PHOtometrie pour le Traitement Operational de Normalisation Satellitaire)measurements. It is shown that the aerosol optical parameters derived from the improved algorithm agree wellwith AERONET/PHOTONS measurement. The retrieval accuracies of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and effectiveradius are 0.06 and 0.05 mu m respectively, which are close to or better than the required accuracies (0.04for AOT and 0.1 mu m for effective radius) for estimating aerosol direct forcing.