Reflectivity of Earth's Surface and Clouds in Ultraviolet From Satellite Observations
نویسندگان
چکیده
The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on board Nimbus 7 is used to infer the ultraviolet (UV) surface and cloud reflectance at 370 nm. Cloudless urface reflectivity was analyzed on a global basis for all surface types for several months. The UV surface reflectivity varies from 2% for some forest and grassland regions to 14% for some sandy desert areas. A notable exception is the large salt flats of Bolivia, which have a reflectivity of •60%. Cloud reflectivity was also analyzed for clouds located at three levels in the atmosphere, as determined by the 11.5-•m channel of the Temperature Humidity Infrared Radiometer. Average cloud reflectivity at 370 nm ranges from 52% for low clouds (tops < 2 km) to 76% for high clouds (tops > 7km at the equator, decreasing to > 4 km at poles).
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