Distinguishing tropospheric aerosols from thin cirrus clouds for improved aerosol retrievals using the ratio of 1.38-Mm and 1.24-Mm channels

[1] The scattering of solar radiation by cirrus clouds often contaminates aerosol products retrieved from satellite-based measurements using channels located in the visible and near-IR spectral region. Previously, it was demonstrated that a narrow satellite channel located near 1.38 mm is very effective in detecting the high level thin cirrus clouds. In this paper, we describe a ratio technique using the 1.38-mm channel and the 1.24-mm channel for identifying pixels contaminated by thin cirrus clouds so that improved aerosol and dust products can be obtained. The multi-channel data acquired with the NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MODIS) on the Terra Spacecraft are used to demonstrate this technique.