Abstract
The surface-wind speed influences on aerosol optical depth (AOD), derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua daily observations over the central North Pacific during the period 2003–2016, have been investigated in this study. The cloud coverage is relatively low over the present investigation area compared to other marine areas, which favors AOD derived from passive remote sensing from space. In this study, we have combined MODIS AOD with 2 m wind speed (U2m) on a satellite-pixel basis, which has been interpolated from National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis. In addition, daily averaged AOD derived from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) measurements in the free-troposphere at the Mauna Loa Observatory (3397 m above sea level), Hawaii, was subtracted from the MODIS column AOD values. The latter was to reduce the contribution of aerosols above the planetary boundary layer. This study shows relatively strong power-law relationships between MODIS mean AOD and surface-wind speed for marine background conditions in summer, fall and winter of the current period. However, previous established relationships between AOD and surface-wind speed deviate substantially. Even so, for similar marine conditions the present relationship agrees reasonable well with a power-law relationship derived for north-east Atlantic conditions. The present MODIS retrievals of AOD in the marine atmosphere agree reasonably well with ground-based remote sensing of AOD.
Highlights
Oceans cover approximately two-thirds of the Earth’s surface and are the major source of natural aerosol mass
2a,b shows shows comparisons comparisons of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol optical depth (AOD) against AOD derived from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET)
Previous studies have shown that MODIS retrievals of AOD oversites coastal associated with significant uncertainties (Section 4), when using theusing
Summary
Oceans cover approximately two-thirds of the Earth’s surface and are the major source of natural aerosol mass. Since winds near the surface are an important factor in the formation of breaking waves and bubbles that burst [10,13,31], which results in the release of sea-spray aerosol, this supports investigations of the relationship between aerosol optical depth (AOD) and surface-wind speed. We investigate how wind speed influences AOD that is derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily observations over the North Pacific during the period 2003–2016. In previous MODIS collections, the calculation of sun glint and foam on the water surface were based on a single value of wind speed (6 m/s) and foam fraction (0.16%) [43]. Pacific latitudinal transect from Brisbane, Australia across the Southern Pacific to South America
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