M. Blumthaler

Papers

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About

M. Blumthaler is a leading figure in atmospheric physics, whose research has significantly advanced the characterization of solar radiation and atmospheric aerosols. His key contributions center on developing and applying innovative optical instrumentation for precise measurements of solar irradiance, sky radiance, and polarization. Blumthaler’s work is foundational for understanding how aerosols and clouds interact with sunlight, directly impacting climate modeling and remote sensing. Notably, his most cited paper (42 citations) details the development and rigorous calibration of a charge-coupled device (CCD) spectrograph, achieving an impressive absolute sensitivity uncertainty of just 4.4% for both direct solar and sky radiance measurements. This instrument, created at the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics in Thessaloniki, set a new standard for accuracy in ground-based radiometry. Further demonstrating his technical ingenuity, Blumthaler explored the feasibility of polarized all-sky imaging for aerosol characterization, proposing the use of Zernike polynomials to decompose Stokes parameter distributions—a novel approach that has opened new pathways for atmospheric analysis. Through these achievements, Blumthaler has provided the scientific community with robust tools and methodologies, leaving a lasting impact on the study of Earth’s radiative balance.