Retrieval of Cloud, Atmospheric, and Surface Properties from Far-Infrared Spectral Radiances Measured by FIRMOS-B During the 2022 HEMERA Stratospheric Balloon Campaign
The knowledge of the radiative properties of clouds and the atmospheric state is of fundamental importance in modelling phenomena in numerical weather predictions and climate models. In this study, we show the results of the retrieval of cloud properties, along with the atmospheric state and the sur...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| author | Gianluca Di Natale Claudio Belotti Marco Barucci Marco Ridolfi Silvia Viciani Francesco D’Amato Samuele Del Bianco Bianca Maria Dinelli Luca Palchetti |
| author_facet | Gianluca Di Natale Claudio Belotti Marco Barucci Marco Ridolfi Silvia Viciani Francesco D’Amato Samuele Del Bianco Bianca Maria Dinelli Luca Palchetti |
| author_sort | Gianluca Di Natale |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The knowledge of the radiative properties of clouds and the atmospheric state is of fundamental importance in modelling phenomena in numerical weather predictions and climate models. In this study, we show the results of the retrieval of cloud properties, along with the atmospheric state and the surface temperature, from far-infrared spectral radiances, in the 100–1000 cm<sup>−1</sup> range, measured by the Far-Infrared Radiation Mobile Observation System-Balloon version (FIRMOS-B) spectroradiometer from a stratospheric balloon launched from Timmins (Canada) in August 2022 within the HEMERA 3 programme. The retrieval study is performed with the Optimal Estimation inversion approach, using three different forward models and retrieval codes to compare the results. Cloud optical depth, particle effective size, and cloud top height are retrieved with good accuracy, despite the relatively high measurement noise of the FIRMOS-B observations used for this study. The retrieved atmospheric profiles, computed simultaneously with cloud parameters, are in good agreement with both co-located radiosonde measurements and ERA-5 profiles, under all-sky conditions. The findings are very promising for the development of an optimised retrieval procedure to analyse the high-precision FIR spectral measurements, which will be delivered by the ESA FORUM mission. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-69ab01edb86944d3bc257a5a013d633a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-69ab01edb86944d3bc257a5a013d633a2025-08-20T02:47:17ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-07-011714245810.3390/rs17142458Retrieval of Cloud, Atmospheric, and Surface Properties from Far-Infrared Spectral Radiances Measured by FIRMOS-B During the 2022 HEMERA Stratospheric Balloon CampaignGianluca Di Natale0Claudio Belotti1Marco Barucci2Marco Ridolfi3Silvia Viciani4Francesco D’Amato5Samuele Del Bianco6Bianca Maria Dinelli7Luca Palchetti8Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, National Institute of Optics, Via Madonna del Piano, 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, National Institute of Optics, Via Madonna del Piano, 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, National Institute of Optics, Via Madonna del Piano, 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, National Institute of Optics, Via Madonna del Piano, 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, National Institute of Optics, Via Madonna del Piano, 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, National Institute of Optics, Via Madonna del Piano, 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Institute of Applied Physics “Nello Carrara”, Via Madonna del Piano, 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Institute for Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Via Gobetti, 101, 40129 Bologna, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, National Institute of Optics, Via Madonna del Piano, 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyThe knowledge of the radiative properties of clouds and the atmospheric state is of fundamental importance in modelling phenomena in numerical weather predictions and climate models. In this study, we show the results of the retrieval of cloud properties, along with the atmospheric state and the surface temperature, from far-infrared spectral radiances, in the 100–1000 cm<sup>−1</sup> range, measured by the Far-Infrared Radiation Mobile Observation System-Balloon version (FIRMOS-B) spectroradiometer from a stratospheric balloon launched from Timmins (Canada) in August 2022 within the HEMERA 3 programme. The retrieval study is performed with the Optimal Estimation inversion approach, using three different forward models and retrieval codes to compare the results. Cloud optical depth, particle effective size, and cloud top height are retrieved with good accuracy, despite the relatively high measurement noise of the FIRMOS-B observations used for this study. The retrieved atmospheric profiles, computed simultaneously with cloud parameters, are in good agreement with both co-located radiosonde measurements and ERA-5 profiles, under all-sky conditions. The findings are very promising for the development of an optimised retrieval procedure to analyse the high-precision FIR spectral measurements, which will be delivered by the ESA FORUM mission.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/14/2458Fourier Transform Spectrometerfar infraredatmospheric retrievalcloud propertiesstratospheric balloonESA-FORUM |
| spellingShingle | Gianluca Di Natale Claudio Belotti Marco Barucci Marco Ridolfi Silvia Viciani Francesco D’Amato Samuele Del Bianco Bianca Maria Dinelli Luca Palchetti Retrieval of Cloud, Atmospheric, and Surface Properties from Far-Infrared Spectral Radiances Measured by FIRMOS-B During the 2022 HEMERA Stratospheric Balloon Campaign Remote Sensing Fourier Transform Spectrometer far infrared atmospheric retrieval cloud properties stratospheric balloon ESA-FORUM |
| title | Retrieval of Cloud, Atmospheric, and Surface Properties from Far-Infrared Spectral Radiances Measured by FIRMOS-B During the 2022 HEMERA Stratospheric Balloon Campaign |
| title_full | Retrieval of Cloud, Atmospheric, and Surface Properties from Far-Infrared Spectral Radiances Measured by FIRMOS-B During the 2022 HEMERA Stratospheric Balloon Campaign |
| title_fullStr | Retrieval of Cloud, Atmospheric, and Surface Properties from Far-Infrared Spectral Radiances Measured by FIRMOS-B During the 2022 HEMERA Stratospheric Balloon Campaign |
| title_full_unstemmed | Retrieval of Cloud, Atmospheric, and Surface Properties from Far-Infrared Spectral Radiances Measured by FIRMOS-B During the 2022 HEMERA Stratospheric Balloon Campaign |
| title_short | Retrieval of Cloud, Atmospheric, and Surface Properties from Far-Infrared Spectral Radiances Measured by FIRMOS-B During the 2022 HEMERA Stratospheric Balloon Campaign |
| title_sort | retrieval of cloud atmospheric and surface properties from far infrared spectral radiances measured by firmos b during the 2022 hemera stratospheric balloon campaign |
| topic | Fourier Transform Spectrometer far infrared atmospheric retrieval cloud properties stratospheric balloon ESA-FORUM |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/14/2458 |
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