Abstract
Abstract. Since early 2000, the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite has been acquiring data that have been used to produce aerosol optical depth (AOD) and particle property retrievals at 17.6 km spatial resolution. Capitalizing on the capabilities provided by multi-angle viewing, the current operational (Version 22) MISR algorithm performs well, with about 75 % of MISR AOD retrievals globally falling within 0.05 or 20 % × AOD of paired validation data from the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). This paper describes the development and assessment of a prototype version of a higher-spatial-resolution 4.4 km MISR aerosol optical depth product compared against multiple AERONET Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observations Network (DRAGON) deployments around the globe. In comparisons with AERONET-DRAGON AODs, the 4.4 km resolution retrievals show improved correlation (r = 0. 9595), smaller RMSE (0.0768), reduced bias (−0.0208), and a larger fraction within the expected error envelope (80.92 %) relative to the Version 22 MISR retrievals.
Highlights
Atmospheric aerosols, suspended particles of solid and liquid, play key roles in the weather and climate of the Earth
We describe the effort to develop a higher-resolution 4.4 km Level 2 Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) aerosol product based on initial tests that showed significant Aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieval improvement relative to Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites, deployed in relatively large numbers locally in Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observations Network (DRAGON) campaigns in regions around the globe (e.g., Eck et al, 2014; Seo et al, 2015; Sano et al, 2016)
As we will discuss in this paper, we found that a MISR 4.4 aerosol retrieval using the same algorithm as the operational (V22) 17.6 km product is better able to resolve spatial gradients in AOD as shown in a number of comparisons from different DRAGON deployments that encompass a wide range of aerosol loadings
Summary
Atmospheric aerosols, suspended particles of solid and liquid, play key roles in the weather and climate of the Earth. Limbacher and Kahn (2015) diagnosed the effects of stray light in the MISR cameras, noted earlier by Bruegge et al (2002), which could have a significant impact on retrieved AODs in scenes with high contrast These efforts by members of the MISR science team and others have been directed at improving the quality of the MISR aerosol product, with the view of delivering a new version of the operational MISR aerosol retrieval algorithm in the near future. We describe the effort to develop a higher-resolution 4.4 km Level 2 MISR aerosol product based on initial tests that showed significant AOD retrieval improvement relative to AERONET sites, deployed in relatively large numbers locally in Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observations Network (DRAGON) campaigns in regions around the globe (e.g., Eck et al, 2014; Seo et al, 2015; Sano et al, 2016). As we will discuss in this paper, we found that a MISR 4.4 aerosol retrieval using the same algorithm as the operational (V22) 17.6 km product is better able to resolve spatial gradients in AOD as shown in a number of comparisons from different DRAGON deployments that encompass a wide range of aerosol loadings
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