Aerosols’ Impact on Optical Satellite Transmission

Optronic sensors on board satellites are used for remote sensing and telecommunications, but are submitted to meteorological conditions and among them cloud cover and aerosols. Aerosol presence in the field of view could be one of the key factor limiting performances of these sensors. The goal of this study is to predict optical transmission of a satellite’s sensor due to aerosols with a Monte Carlo method. Geometrical and optical properties required to build the model are obtained from CloudAerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) measurements. Atmospheric scenes containing aerosols are generated and transmission spectra are obtained along the line-of-sight of a virtual satellite. To evaluate the impact of aerosols on the optical link, we computed the probability that the transmittance along the LOS is higher than a given threshold. Different areas are selected and relevant satellites configurations are investigated: geostationary, Low-Earth-Orbit, nadir view angle, or tilted view. Results’ discussion points out the impact of climates and environments but also the importance of the satellite instruments angle of view in the optical transmission between ground stations and satellites.