Derivation of column atmospheric water vapor amount from MODIS near-IR channels

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), a major facility instrument on board the Terra Spacecraft, was successfully launched into space in December of 1999. MODIS has several near-IR channels within and around the 0.94-/spl mu/m water vapor bands for remote sensing of integrated atmospheric water vapor over land. The authors describe the physical principles of water vapor retrievals from MODIS near-IR channels. They also present a sample water vapor image derived from MODIS data.