Monitoring and tracking the trans-Pacific transport of aerosols using multi-satellite aerosol optical depth retrievals
Abstract. The primary goal of this study was to generate a near-real time (NRT) aerosol optical depth (AOD) product capable of providing a comprehensive understanding of the aerosol spatial distribution over the Pacific Ocean in order to better monitor and track the trans-Pacific transport of aerosols. Therefore, we developed a NRT product that takes advantage of observations from both low-earth orbiting and geostationary satellites. In particular, we utilize AOD products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) satellites. Then, we combine these AOD products with our own retrieval algorithms developed for the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-15) and Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT-2) to generate a NRT daily AOD composite product. We present examples of the daily AOD composite product for a case study of trans-Pacific transport of Asian pollution and dust aerosols in mid-March 2014. Overall, the new product successfully tracks this aerosol plume during its trans-Pacific transport to the west coast of North America. However, we identify several areas across the domain of interest from Asia to North America where the new product can encounter significant uncertainties due to the inclusion of the geostationary AOD retrievals. The uncertainties associated with geostationary AOD retrievals are expected to be minimized after the successful launch of the next-generation advanced NOAA GOES-R and recently launched JMA Himawari satellites. Observations from these advanced satellites will ultimately provide an enhanced understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of aerosols over the Pacific.