scholarly journals Estimates of aerosol absorption over India using multi-satellite retrieval

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 1773-1778 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Narasimhan ◽  
S. K. Satheesh

Abstract. Aerosol absorption is poorly quantified because of the lack of adequate measurements. It has been shown that the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard EOS-Aura and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard EOS-Aqua, which fly in formation as part of the A-train, provide an excellent opportunity to improve the accuracy of aerosol retrievals. Here, we follow a multi-satellite approach to estimate the regional distribution of aerosol absorption over continental India for the first time. Annually and regionally averaged aerosol single-scattering albedo over the Indian landmass is estimated as 0.94 ± 0.03. Our study demonstrates the potential of multi-satellite data analysis to improve the accuracy of retrieval of aerosol absorption over land.

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Alfaro-Contreras ◽  
J. Zhang ◽  
J. R. Campbell ◽  
J. S. Reid

Abstract. Seven and a half years (June 2006 to November 2013) of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aerosol and cloud layer products are compared with collocated Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index (AI) data and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cloud products in order to investigate variability in estimates of biannual and monthly above-cloud aerosol (ACA) events globally. The active- (CALIOP) and passive-based (OMI-MODIS) techniques have their advantages and caveats for ACA detection, and thus both are used to derive a thorough and robust comparison of daytime cloudy-sky ACA distribution and climatology. For the first time, baseline above-cloud aerosol optical depth (ACAOD) and AI thresholds are derived and examined (AI  =  1.0, ACAOD  =  0.015) for each sensor. Both OMI-MODIS and CALIOP-based daytime spatial distributions of ACA events show similar patterns during both study periods (December–May) and (June–November). Divergence exists in some regions, however, such as Southeast Asia during June through November, where daytime cloudy-sky ACA frequencies of up to 10 % are found from CALIOP yet are non-existent from the OMI-based method. Conversely, annual cloudy-sky ACA frequencies of 20–30 % are reported over northern Africa from the OMI-based method yet are largely undetected by the CALIOP-based method. Using a collocated OMI-MODIS-CALIOP data set, our study suggests that the cloudy-sky ACA frequency differences between the OMI-MODIS- and CALIOP-based methods are mostly due to differences in cloud detection capability between MODIS and CALIOP as well as QA flags used. An increasing interannual variability of  ∼  0.3–0.4 % per year (since 2009) in global monthly cloudy-sky ACA daytime frequency of occurrence is found using the OMI-MODIS-based method. Yet, CALIOP-based global daytime ACA frequencies exhibit a near-zero interannual variability. Further analysis suggests that the OMI-derived interannual variability in cloudy-sky ACA frequency may be affected by OMI row anomalies in later years. A few regions are found to have increasing slopes in interannual variability in cloudy-sky ACA frequency, including the Middle East and India. Regions with slightly negative slopes of the interannual variability in cloudy-sky ACA frequencies are found over South America and China, while remaining regions in the study show nearly zero change in ACA frequencies over time. The interannual variability in ACA frequency is not, however, statistically significant on both global and regional scales, given the relatively limited sample sizes. A longer data record of ACA events is needed in order to establish significant trends of ACA frequency regionally and globally.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 4173-4217 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Alfaro-Contreras ◽  
J. Zhang ◽  
J. R. Campbell ◽  
J. S. Reid

Abstract. Seven and a half years (June 2006–November 2013) of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aerosol and cloud layer products are compared with collocated Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Aerosol Index (AI) data and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cloud products, to investigate variability in estimates of bi-annual and monthly above-cloud aerosol (ACA) events globally. The active- (CALIOP) and passive-based (OMI-MODIS) techniques have their advantages and caveats for ACA detection, and thus both are used to get a thorough and robust comparison of daytime cloudy-sky ACA distribution and climatology. For the first time, baseline above-cloud aerosol optical depth (ACAOD) and AI thresholds are derived and examined (AI = 1.0, ACAOD = 0.015) for each sensor. Both OMI-MODIS and CALIOP-based daytime spatial distributions of ACA events show similar patterns during both study periods (December–May) and (June–November). Divergence exists in some regions, however, such as Southeast Asia during June through November, where daytime cloudy-sky ACA frequencies of up to 10% are found from CALIOP yet are non-existent from the OMI-based method. Conversely, annual cloudy-sky ACA frequencies of 20–30% are reported over Northern Africa from the OMI-based method, yet are largely undetected by the CALIOP-based method. This is possibly due to a misclassification of thick dust plumes as clouds by the OMI-MODIS based method. An increasing trend of ~0.5% per year (since 2009) in global monthly cloudy-sky ACA daytime frequency of occurrence is found using the OMI-MODIS based method. Yet, CALIOP-based global daytime ACA frequencies exhibit a near-zero trend. Further analysis suggests that the OMI derived cloudy-sky ACA frequency trend may be affected by OMI row anomalies in later years. A few regions are found to have increasing trends of cloudy-sky ACA frequency, including the Middle-East and India. Regions with slightly negative cloudy-sky ACA frequency trends are found over South America and the Southern Oceans, while remaining regions in the study show a near-zero trend. Global and regional trends are not statistically significant, though, given relatively lacking sample sizes. A longer data record of ACA events is needed in order to establish a more significant trend of ACA frequency regionally and globally.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2895
Author(s):  
Maria Gavrouzou ◽  
Nikolaos Hatzianastassiou ◽  
Antonis Gkikas ◽  
Christos J. Lolis ◽  
Nikolaos Mihalopoulos

A satellite algorithm able to identify Dust Aerosols (DA) is applied for a climatological investigation of Dust Aerosol Episodes (DAEs) over the greater Mediterranean Basin (MB), one of the most climatologically sensitive regions of the globe. The algorithm first distinguishes DA among other aerosol types (such as Sea Salt and Biomass Burning) by applying threshold values on key aerosol optical properties describing their loading, size and absorptivity, namely Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Aerosol Index (AI) and Ångström Exponent (α). The algorithm operates on a daily and 1° × 1° geographical cell basis over the 15-year period 2005–2019. Daily gridded spectral AOD data are taken from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua Collection 6.1, and are used to calculate the α data, which are then introduced into the algorithm, while AI data are obtained by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) -Aura- Near-UV aerosol product OMAERUV dataset. The algorithm determines the occurrence of Dust Aerosol Episode Days (DAEDs), whenever high loads of DA (higher than their climatological mean value plus two/four standard deviations for strong/extreme DAEDs) exist over extended areas (more than 30 pixels or 300,000 km2). The identified DAEDs are finally grouped into Dust Aerosol Episode Cases (DAECs), consisting of at least one DAED. According to the algorithm results, 166 (116 strong and 50 extreme) DAEDs occurred over the MB during the study period. DAEDs are observed mostly in spring (47%) and summer (38%), with strong DAEDs occurring primarily in spring and summer and extreme ones in spring. Decreasing, but not statistically significant, trends of the frequency, spatial extent and intensity of DAECs are revealed. Moreover, a total number of 98 DAECs was found, primarily in spring (46 DAECs) and secondarily in summer (36 DAECs). The seasonal distribution of the frequency of DAECs varies geographically, being highest in early spring over the eastern Mediterranean, in late spring over the central Mediterranean and in summer over the western MB.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 12411-12440 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Russell ◽  
A. E. Perring ◽  
L. C. Valin ◽  
E. Bucsela ◽  
E. C. Browne ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a new retrieval of tropospheric NO2 vertical column density from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) based on high spatial and temporal resolution terrain and profile inputs. We find non-negligible impacts on the retrieved NO2 column for terrain pressure (±20%), albedo (±40%), and NO2 vertical profile (−75%–+10%). We compare our NO2 product, the Berkeley High-Resolution (BEHR) product, with operational retrievals and find that the operational retrievals are biased high (30%) over remote areas and biased low (8%) over urban regions. We validate the operational and BEHR products using boundary layer aircraft observations from the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS-CA) field campaign which occurred in June 2008 in California. Results indicate that columns derived using our boundary layer extrapolation method show good agreement with satellite observations (R2 = 0.65–0.83; N = 68) and provide a more robust validation of satellite-observed NO2 column than those determined using full vertical spirals (R2 = 0.26; N = 5) as in previous work. Agreement between aircraft observations and the BEHR product (R2 = 0.83) is better than agreement with the operational products (R2 = 0.65–0.72). We also show that agreement between satellite and aircraft observations for all products can be further improved (e.g. BEHR: R2 = 0.91) using cloud information from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument instead of the OMI cloud product. These results indicate that much of the variance in the operational products can be attributed to coarse resolution terrain and profile parameters.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 8543-8554 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Russell ◽  
A. E. Perring ◽  
L. C. Valin ◽  
E. J. Bucsela ◽  
E. C. Browne ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a new retrieval of tropospheric NO2 vertical column density from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) based on high spatial and temporal resolution terrain and profile inputs. We compare our NO2 product, the Berkeley High-Resolution (BEHR) product, with operational retrievals and find that the operational retrievals are biased high (30 %) over remote areas and biased low (8 %) over urban regions. Additionally, we find non-negligible impacts on the retrieved NO2 column for terrain pressure (±20 %), albedo (±40 %), and NO2 vertical profile (−75 %–+10 %). We validate the operational and BEHR products using boundary layer aircraft observations from the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS-CA) field campaign which occurred in June 2008 in California. Results indicate that columns derived using our boundary layer extrapolation method show good agreement with satellite observations (R2 = 0.65–0.83; N = 68) and provide a more robust validation of satellite-observed NO2 column than those determined using full vertical spirals (R2 = 0.26; N = 5) as in previous work. Agreement between aircraft observations and the BEHR product (R2 = 0.83) is better than agreement with the operational products (R2 = 0.65–0.72). We also show that agreement between satellite and aircraft observations can be further improved (e.g. BEHR: R2 = 0.91) using cloud information from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument instead of the OMI cloud product. These results indicate that much of the variance in the operational products can be attributed to coarse resolution terrain pressure, albedo, and profile parameters implemented in the retrievals.


2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1121-1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Desmons ◽  
N. Ferlay ◽  
F. Parol ◽  
J. Riédi ◽  
F. Thieuleux

AbstractThe detection of multilayer cloud situations is important for satellite retrieval algorithms and for many climate-related applications. In this paper, the authors describe an algorithm based on the exploitation of the Polarization and Directionality of the Earth’s Reflectance (POLDER) observations to identify monolayered and multilayered cloudy situations along with a confidence index. The authors’ reference comes from the synergy of the active instruments of the A-Train satellite constellation. The algorithm is based upon a decision tree that uses a metric from information theory and a series of tests on POLDER level-2 products. The authors obtain a multilayer flag as the final result of a tree classification, which takes discrete values between 0 and 100. Values closest to 0 (100) indicate a higher confidence in the monolayer (multilayer) character. This indicator can be used as it is or with a threshold level that minimizes the risk of misclassification, as a binary index to distinguish between monolayer and multilayer clouds. For almost fully covered and optically thick enough cloud scenes, the risk of misclassification ranges from 29% to 34% over the period 2006–10, and the average confidences in the estimated monolayer and multilayer characters of the cloud scenes are 74.0% and 58.2%, respectively. With the binary distinction, POLDER provides a climatology of the mono–multilayer cloud character that exhibits some interesting features. Comparisons with the performance of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) multilayer flag are given.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kruthika Eswaran ◽  
Sreedharan Krishnakumari Satheesh ◽  
Jayaraman Srinivasan

Abstract. Single scattering albedo (SSA) represents a unique identification of aerosol type and aerosol radiative forcing. However, SSA retrievals are highly uncertain due cloud contamination and aerosol composition. Recent improvement in the SSA retrieval algorithm has combined the superior cloud masking technique of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the better sensitivity of Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) to aerosol absorption. The combined OMI-MODIS algorithm has been validated over a small spatial and temporal scale only. The present study validates the algorithm over global oceans for the period 2008–2012. The geographical heterogeneity in the aerosol type and concentration over the Atlantic Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal was useful to delineate the effect of aerosol type on the retrieval algorithm. We also noted that OMI overestimates SSA when absorbing aerosols were present closer to the surface. We attribute this overestimation to data discontinuity in the aerosol height climatology derived from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite. OMI uses pre-defined aerosol heights over regions where CALIPSO climatology is not present leading to overestimation of SSA. The importance of aerosol height was also studied using the Santa Barbara DISORT radiative transfer (SBDART) model. The results from the joint retrieval were validated with ground-based measurements and it was seen that OMI-MODIS SSA retrievals were better constrained than OMI only retrieval.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 10827-10845 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Yoshida ◽  
J. M. Haywood ◽  
T. Yokohata ◽  
H. Murakami ◽  
T. Nakajima

Abstract. There is great uncertainty regarding the role of mineral dust aerosols in Earth's climate system. One reason for this uncertainty is that the optical properties of mineral dust, such as its single scattering albedo (the ratio of scattering to total extinction), are poorly constrained because ground observations are limited to a few locations and satellite standard products are not available due to the excessively bright surface of the desert in the visible wavelength, which makes robust retrievals difficult. Here, we develop a method to estimate the spatial distributions of the aerosol single scattering albedo (ω0) and optical depth (τa), with daily 1°×1° spatial resolution using data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) as well as model simulations of radiative transfer. This approach is based on the "critical surface reflectance" method developed in the literature, which estimates ω0 from the top of the atmospheric radiance. We estimate the uncertainties in ω0 over the Sahara (Asia) to be approximately 0.020 and 0.010 (0.023 and 0.017) for bands 9 and 1, respectively, while the uncertainty in τa is approximately 0.235 and 0.228 (0.464 and 0.370) for bands 9 and 1, respectively. The 5–95% range of the spatial distribution of ω0 over the Sahara (Asia) is approximately 0.90–0.94 and 0.96–0.99 (0.87–0.94 and 0.89–0.97) for bands 9 and 1, respectively, and that of τa over the Sahara (Asia) is approximately 0.8–1.4 and 0.8–1.7 (0.7–2.0 and 0.7–1.9) for bands 9 and 1, respectively. The results for the Sahara indicate a good correlation between ω0 and the surface reflectance, and between ω0 and τa. However, the relationships between ω0, τa, and surface reflectance are less clear in Asia than in the Sahara, and the ω0 values are smaller than those in the Sahara. The regions with small ω0 values are consistent with the regions where coal-burning smoke and carbonaceous aerosols are reported to be transported in previous studies. Because the coal-burning and carbonaceous aerosols are known to be more absorptive and have smaller ω0 values than dust aerosols, our results indicate that the dust aerosols in Asia are contaminated by these anthropogenic aerosols. The spatial distribution of dust optical properties obtained in our work could be useful in understanding the role of dust aerosols in Earth's climate system, most likely through future collaboration with regional and global modelling studies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Adesina ◽  
Stuart J. Piketh ◽  
Paola Formenti ◽  
Gillian Maggs-Kölling ◽  
Brent N. Holben ◽  
...  

Atmospheric aerosols contribute significantly to the uncertainty in radiative forcing effects that influence the climate and pose a significant health risk to humans.   The climatic implications of aerosols are dependent on many variables, including aerosol size, shape, chemical composition, and position in the atmospheric column. The radiative impact of aerosols transported over the west coast of southern Africa has been found, in particular, to be complicated by the aforementioned aerosol properties.  This study investigated the columnar optical properties of aerosols over Gobabeb, Namibia (23.56oS, 15.04oE, 400 m asl) using sunphotometer data between December 2014 and November 2015. Aerosol mean optical depth AOD500 had its maximum and minimum values in 2015 August (0.37±0.30) and June (0.06±0.02), respectively. The Angström parameter was mostly above unity during the study period and indicated the prevalence of fine particles for the most part of the year with maximum and minimum values observed in August 2015 (1.44±0.19) and December 2014 (0.57±0.19), respectively. The columnar water vapor was highest in January (2.62±0.79) and lowest in June (0.76±0.27). The volume size distribution showed the fine particles having a mean radius of about 0.16 μm and the coarse mode had variation in sizes with a radius ranging between 3 μm and 7 μm. The single scattering albedo at visible wavelengths ranged between 0.87 and 0.88. The phase function was high at small angles but minimum at about 140o in all seasons. The radiative forcing showed a heating effect in all seasons with maximum and minimum in winter (9.41 Wm-2) and autumn (3.64 Wm-2), respectively. Intercomparison of the sunphotometer data with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) showed that the satellite sensor overestimates the aerosol loading compared to the ground-based sunphotometer measurements. Both sets of observations were better correlated during the spring and winter seasons than for summer and autumn.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (3A) ◽  
pp. 124
Author(s):  
DUC LUONG NGUYEN ◽  
Thi Hieu Bui ◽  
Hoang Hiep Nguyen ◽  
Quang Trung Bui ◽  
Hoang Duong Do

Although a number of studies have extensively inter-compared the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite-based aerosol optical depth (AOD) with the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) ground-based AOD on both global and regional scales, almost no similar studies have been conducted for Vietnam - a humid subtropical climate region. For the first time, inter-comparison between the MODIS Terra and Aqua Collection 6.1 (C6.1) Dark Target (DT) 10 km, Deep Blue (DB) 10 km, and merged DT-DB 10 km with the AERONET AODs has been performed in different areas with different surface types and different climatic characteristics in Vietnam. Three investigated AERONET stations are Nghia Do (urban), Son La (mountainous rural), and Bac Lieu (coastal urban) with the studying periods of 2010 - 2016, 2012 - 2017, and 2010 - 2017, respectively. Our findings showed the better performances of DB algorithm than those of DT and DT-DB products in the urban area. Additionally, all MODIS AOD algorithm performed worse over the coastal area compared to those in the non-coastal areas. Generally, the ability of all the MODIS AODs to catch up the monthly-mean AERONET AODs has been expressed in this study.


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