Clouds act as a major reflector that changes the amount of sunlight reflected to space. Change in radiance intensity due to the presence of clouds interrupts the retrieval of trace gas or aerosol properties from satellite data. In this paper, we developed a fast and robust algorithm, named the fast cloud retrieval algorithm, using a triplet of wavelengths (469, 477, and 485 nm) of the O₂–O₂ absorption band around 477 nm (CLDTO4) to derive the cloud information such as cloud top pressure (CTP) and cloud fraction (CF) for the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS). The novel algorithm is based on the fact that the difference in the optical path through which light passes with regard to the altitude of clouds causes a change in radiance due to the absorption of O₂–O₂ at the three selected wavelengths. To reduce the time required for algorithm calculations, the look-up table (LUT) method was applied. The LUT was pre-constructed for various conditions of geometry using Vectorized Linearized Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer (VLIDORT) to consider the polarization of the scattered light. The GEMS was launched in February 2020, but the observed data of GEMS have not yet been widely released. To evaluate the performance of the algorithm, the retrieved CTP and CF using observational data from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2), which cover the spectral range of GEMS, were compared with the results of the Fast Retrieval Scheme for Clouds from the Oxygen A band (FRESCO) algorithm, which is based on the O₂ A-band. There was good agreement between the results, despite small discrepancies for low clouds.

Asian dust aerosols consist of various minerals, such as quartz, clay minerals, feldspars, and calcite. Complex refractive index of Asian dust is determined for a spectral range from 0.2 to 1.0 μm, assuming that the particles are an internal mixture of the component minerals in dust samples reported in previous literature. The derived optical constants for Asian dust are quite different from the refractive indices for other desert dusts. The imaginary refractive index for Asian dust is much smaller than that of the “mineral” model in Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC) across the whole range. At wavelengths shorter than 650 nm, the present imaginary index is smaller than the index for Saharan dust, determined from mineralogical compositions of dust samples at Tinfou, Morocco, during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM). The simulated spectrum for an Asian dust event on 15 March 2009 in north‐east China using the present optical constants agree well with the spectrum measured by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board the Aura spacecraft.

The Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) is the first geostationary earth orbit (GEO) environmental instrument, onboard the Geostationary Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite–2B (GEO-KOMPSAT-2B) launched on 19 February 2020, and is measuring reflected radiance from the earth's surface and atmosphere system in the range of 300–500 nm in the ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) region. The radiometric response of a satellite sensor that measures the UV–Vis wavelength region can depend on the polarization states of the incoming light. To reduce the sensitivity due to polarization, many current low earth orbit (LEO) satellites are equipped with a scrambler to depolarize the signals or a polarization measurement device (PMD) that simultaneously measures the polarization state of the atmosphere, then utilizes it for a polarization correction. However, a novel polarization correction algorithm is required since GEMS does not have a scrambler or a PMD. Therefore, this study aims to improve the radiometric accuracy of GEMS by developing a polarization correction algorithm optimized for GEMS that simultaneously considers the atmosphere's polarization state and the instrument's polarization sensitivity characteristics. The polarization factor and axis were derived by the preflight test on the ground as a function of wavelengths, showing a polarization sensitivity of more than 2 % at some specific wavelengths. The polarization states of the atmosphere are configured as a look-up table (LUT) using the Vector Linearized Discrete Ordinate Radiative-Transfer model (VLIDORT). Depending on the observation geometry and atmospheric conditions, the observed radiance spectrum can include a polarization error of 2 %. The performance of the proposed GEMS polarization algorithm was assessed using synthetic data, and the errors due to polarization were found to be larger in clear regions than in cloudy regions. After the polarization correction, polarization errors were reduced close to zero for almost all wavelengths, including the wavelength regions with high peaks and curvatures in the GEMS polarization factor, which sufficiently demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed polarization correction algorithm. From the actual observation data after the launch of GEMS, the diurnal variation for the spatial distribution of polarization error was confirmed to be minimum at noon and maximum at sunrise/sunset. This can be used to improve the quality of GEMS measurements, the first geostationary environmental satellite, and then contribute to the retrieved accuracy of various Level-2 products, such as trace gases and aerosols in the atmosphere.

Asian dust aerosols are composed of quartz, plagioclase, K‐feldspar, calcite, and phyllosilicates. The optical constants for mixtures of these minerals are important not only to understand the effects of Asian dust on climate but also to retrieve the properties of Asian dust. In this work, the optical constants for labradorite and orthoclase, representative minerals of plagioclase and K‐feldspar, respectively, are determined for the spectral range of 500–2000 cm⁻¹ using bidirectional reflectance data from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer. Assuming an internal mixture of component minerals, the effective refractive indices for Asian dust are calculated using Bruggeman's rule. The results are proposed as optical constants for Asian dust and differ from those for other dust aerosols, such as the refractive indices for “Saharan dust” derived from aerosol samples collected at Barbados. The imaginary refractive index for Asian dust is larger, indicating more absorptive, than the index for Saharan dust in the range of 1000–1300 cm⁻¹. Using the optical constants derived in this study, the brightness temperatures of satellite measurements are simulated for typical loading scenarios of Asian dust aerosols. The simulated brightness temperatures exhibit a notable decrease with wave number in the region of 800–1000 cm⁻¹. The results also corroborate the spectral features of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) measurements for an Asian dust storm. AIRS brightness temperatures near 1223 cm⁻¹, lower than the maximum near 830 cm⁻¹, can also be simulated using the derived optical constants for Asian dust.

The Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) is the first geostationary earth orbit (GEO) environmental instrument, onboard the Geostationary Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite–2B (GEO-KOMPSAT-2B) launched on 19 February 2020, and is measuring reflected radiance from the Earth’s surface and atmosphere system in the range of 300 to 500 nm in the ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) region. The radiometric response of a satellite sensor that measures the UV-Vis wavelength region can depend on the polarization states of the incoming light. To reduce the sensitivity due to polarization, many current low earth orbit (LEO) satellites are equipped with a scrambler to depolarize the signals or a polarization measurement device (PMD) that simultaneously measures the polarization state of the atmosphere, then utilizes it for a polarization correction. However, a novel polarization correction algorithm is required since GEMS does not have a scrambler or a PMD. Therefore, this study aims to improve the radiometric accuracy of GEMS by developing a polarization correction algorithm optimized for GEMS that simultaneously considers the atmosphere's polarization state and the instrument's polarization sensitivity characteristics. The polarization factor and angle were derived by the preflight test on the ground as a function of wavelengths, showing a polarization sensitivity of more than 2 % at some specific wavelengths. The polarization states of the atmosphere are configured as a look-up table (LUT) using the Vector Linearized Discrete Ordinate Radiative-Transfer model (VLIDORT). Depending on the observation geometry and atmospheric conditions, the observed radiance spectrum can be included with a polarization error of up to 2 %. The performance of the proposed GEMS polarization algorithm was assessed using synthetic data, and the errors due to polarization were found to be larger in clear regions than in cloudy regions. After the polarization correction, polarization errors were reduced close to zero for almost all wavelengths, including a high peak and curvature of polarization error, which sufficiently demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed polarization correction algorithm. From the actual observation data after the launch of GEMS, the diurnal variation for the spatial distribution of polarization error was confirmed to be minimum at noon and maximum at sunrise/sunset. This can be used to improve the quality of GEMS measurements, the first geostationary environmental satellite, and then contribute to the retrieved accuracy of various Level 2 products (hereafter, L2), such as trace gases and aerosols in the atmosphere.