Simultaneous retrieval of the optical thickness and altitude of mineral dust with FY-3/VIRR infrared observation

Focusing on Asian dust aerosols, the Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM) developed at JCSDA under NOAA/NESDIS is used to simulate the effects of dust on the observations from 10-12μm split-window channels of the Visible and InfraRed Radiometor(VIRR) on Chinese FengYun-3A (FY-3A) satellite. Based on the simulation, an infrared dust retrieving algorithm is developed with VIRR data, in which the effective radius of Asian dust is defined with the ground measurements from SKYNET. The optical thickness and height of the dust layer are retrieved simultaneously with this algorithm. The results show the optical thickness of dust layer is reliable comparing with the height. The errors in the calibration of sensors and surface temperature may have large effect on the retrieving.