The error in satellite retrieved temperature profiles due to the effects of atmospheric aerosol particles

Radiances were computed for the eight temperature sounding infrared channels of the SIRS-B instrument for a clear model and for two very hazy models of the atmosphere. Temperature profiles were retrieved from these radiances using the minimum-information technique. For the retrieval, it was assumed that the computed radiances were measured by a noise-free instrument and the atmosphere was clear. Also, the true model temperature profile was used as the initial profile. As a result, deviations of the retrieved profile from the true one occurred only for haze models and were due solely to the neglect of aerosol-particle absorption and scattering in the retrieval process. Temperature errors were greatest for the haze model with large stratospheric aerosol-particle concentration. The rms temperature error between 100 and 1000 mbar for this model was 0.7°C. The largest deviations occurred at 966 mbar (1.5°C warmer) and 673 mbar (1.2°C cooler). Since the atmosphere is typically much less hazy than these models represent, we have concluded that the error caused by the neglect of aerosol effects is a small part of the rms error computed from radiosonde intercomparison analyses ($\text{≈2.5°}\text{C}$).