Inference of Cloud Optical Depth from Aircraft-Based Solar Radiometric Measurements

A method is introduced for inferring cloud optical depth τ from solar radiometric measurements made on an aircraft at altitude z. It is assessed using simulated radiometric measurements produced by a 3D Monte Carlo algorithm acting on fields of broken boundary layer clouds generated from Landsat imagery and a cloud-resolving model. The method uses upwelling flux and downwelling zenith radiance measured at two solar wavelengths where atmospheric …