Abstract
Aerosol optical thickness (AOT) data retrieved by the Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) in 2001 were compared with AOT measurements from 16 Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites over the contiguous United States. Overall, MISR and AERONET AOTs were strongly correlated (r = 0.73). Regression analysis showed that the root mean square error (RMSE) of MISR AOT was 0.05. The overall retrieval error of MISR AOT was within ±0.04 ± 0.18 × AOT. This result as well as the regression slope and intercept were comparable with previous results using AOT retrievals from MISR or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The agreement between MISR and AERONET AOTs was improved (R2 = 0.90, RMSE = 0.04) when data from three western inland sites were excluded. A paired t test indicated that MISR systematically overestimated AOT by 0.02 ± 0.007. It was also shown that this positive bias in MISR AOT was greater during the spring and summer as well as in western United States. Together, these results suggest that MISR AOT measurements may be suitable for quantitative analysis of aerosol abundance. Finally, it is unlikely that the current results will vary when using alternative MISR AOT parameters since our analysis also showed the MISR AOT parameters (best fit, regional mean, and weighted regional mean AOTs) to be highly comparable.
Highlights
[2] NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra satellite [Kaufman et al, 1998] was launched into Earth orbit in December 1999 with the mission of comprehensively measuring the Earth’s climate system
Diner et al [2001] compared a small sample of the regional mean aerosol optical depth, computed from early Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) measurements with Aerosol optical thickness (AOT) observations from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) in southern Africa
The results above agreed with the findings from a multiyear, multistation study of AERONET AOT data [O’Neill et al, 2000]
Summary
[2] NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra satellite [Kaufman et al, 1998] was launched into Earth orbit in December 1999 with the mission of comprehensively measuring the Earth’s climate system. Diner et al [2001] compared a small sample of the regional mean aerosol optical depth, computed from early MISR measurements with AOT observations from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) in southern Africa. Their results showed that MISR had a positive bias (0.02) across the range of the data and overestimated AOT measurements by 10%. [5] Because of their relatively high resolution and wide coverage over land, the latest generation of spaceborne aerosol sensors such as MISR and MODIS are promising data sources for regional scale studies on fine particle pollution characterization and related public health issues. To choose the appropriate AOT parameters for use in the current analysis, the relationships among different AOT parameters provided by the MISR data product were examined
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