Height and thickness of a scattering (aerosol or cloud) layer from space-based oxygen A-band spectroscopy: An analytical approach

Abstract

Simplified radiative transfer modeling is used to show that both altitude and thickness of a scattering layer can be inferred from satellite observations in the O₂ A-band at high-enough spectral resolution, preferably with prior information about optical thickness. For simplicity, the surface is assumed black (water-like). This confirms previous claims but using closed-form analytical methods. For optically thin aerosol, the singlescattering limit is used; for optically thick clouds, a diffusion-type model is invoked.