Bo-Cai Gao received the B.S. degree in Physics from Nankai University in the People's Republic of China in 1982, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the Ohio State University in 1984, and 1988, respectively. He is presently with the Remote Sensing Division, Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. He is conducting research in remote sensing of cirrus clouds, atmospheric water vapor, and coastal water. He received a Prize Paper Award from IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (IGARSS) in 1991 for his development of an operational atmospheric radiative transfer code to retrieve surface reflectance spectra from hyperspectral imaging data measured with the NASA/JPL Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS).

MODIS Research Area

"Remote sensing of thin cirrus clouds and atmospheric water vapor using MODIS channels in the near-IR spectral region."

Satellite remote sensing of thin cirrus clouds are often difficult using channels located in the visible and IR atmospheric window regions. The MODIS instrument has a narrow channel located within the strong water vapor absorption band near 1.375 µm. This channel allows the sensitive detection of thin cirrus clouds. He is mainly responsible for the development of an operational algorithm to estimate thin cirrus reflectances in the 0.4 - 1.0 µm region from MODIS data. This product will be useful for the correction of thin cirrus effects from MODIS data, and will yield better MODIS land and ocean products. Improved remote sensing of precipitable water is essential to the understanding of hydrological cycle, aerosol properties, aerosol-cloud interactions, energy budget, and climate. The MODIS instrument has channels located within and around the 0.94-µm water vapor band. He is also responsible for the development of an operational near-IR algorithm for retrieving column water vapor amounts from MODIS data over clear land areas of the globe and above clouds over both land and ocean during the day time.

Field Work

Hyperspectral imaging data acquired with the NASA/JPL AVIRIS instrument during many field campaigns, including the SCAR-A, SCAR-C, and SCAR-B, are, in principle, available from NASA JPL to interested parties.

Publications

• Gao Publications

Contact Infomation

Dr. Bo-Cai Gao
T: 202-767-8252
F: 202-404-8894
E: bocai.gao@nrl.navy.mil