A model function approach to generate a large set of brightness temperature simulations over the Mediterranean Sea

A reliable estimate of atmospheric and sea surface parameters from satellite microwave radiometric measurements requires the availability of a large dataset of simulated brightness temperatures to train the retrieval algorithms. The validity of the radiative forward model adopted to generate the synthetic brightness temperatures, for known atmospheric and surface conditions, represents a crucial point of any retrieval method. In this work, we propose an approach based on microwave sea emissivity and scattering model functions, derived from the two-scale sea surface model and on a radiative transfer scheme in a non-scattering atmosphere. For the latter, we investigate about the possibility to adopt a simple cloud model derived from the outputs of a simulation of a stratiform event occurred in the Mediterranean basin. The simulation has been carried out by using a detailed microphysical time-evolving cloud model.