Mathematical Aspects of the Meteorological Processing of Infrared Spectral Measurements from the GOES Sounder. Part III: Emissivity Estimation in Solving the Inverse Problem of Atmospheric Remote Sensing

To retrieve vertical profiles of temperature and moisture from infrared spectral measurements, surface emissivity must be accounted for in the physical solution of the inverse problem. A radiative model that includes the emission and reflection on the lower atmospheric boundary is introduced. An algorithm is developed for the solution of the vertical temperature–humidity profile and the estimation of an effective surface emissivity and temperature within the sounding area. Results using spectral measurements from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-8 sounder are presented. It is found that accounting for the surface emissivity in the solution of the inverse problem has a positive impact on the meteorological profiles.