Aerosol
Overview

The MODIS Aerosol Product monitors the ambient aerosol optical thickness over the oceans globally and over the continents. Furthermore, the aerosol size distribution is derived over the oceans, and the aerosol type is derived over the continents. "Fine" aerosols (anthropogenic/pollution) and "coarse" aerosols (natural particles; e.g., dust) are also derived. Daily Level-2 (MOD_04) data are produced at the spatial resolution of a 10 x 10 1-km (at nadir) pixel array. The aerosol product includes the "deep-blue" algorithm recently developed to get aerosol optical thickness over bright land areas.
Product Information
- Dark Target: Rob Levy
- Deep Blue: Christina Hsu
- Validation
- Aerosol Product Home Page
- Documentation, Guides, ATBD
- Data Issues & Quality Statements
- Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Reference
Product Details
Product Name | Terra | Aqua |
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Aerosol 5-Min L2 Swath 10km |
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Aerosol 5-Min L2 Swath 3km |
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Overview
The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aerosol suite include two product sets: Deep Blue (DB) Aerosol and Dark Target (DT) Aerosol.
The DB Aerosol comprises remotely sensed measurements that help derive aerosols in the atmosphere and their properties. The DB algorithm was first developed to fill in gaps over bright surfaces, such as deserts, in the DT Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) algorithm. Such gaps are deemed important given their role as key sources for aerosols like wind-blown mineral dust. The DB algorithm has not only evolved to incorporate darker land surfaces (vegetation) besides the brighter surfaces, its AOT measurements have become more accurate and precise with well-quantified error characteristics. The SNPP VIIRS DB global aerosol suite includes the following: a 6-minute/6-km swath product, a daily/1-degree, and a monthly/1-degree aggregated product.
The DT Aerosol product provides satellite-derived measurements of AOT and their properties over land and ocean, and spectral AOT and their size parameters over oceans, globally. Based on the same MODIS heritage, two distinct DT algorithms help retrieve aerosol information over ocean, and over vegetated/dark-soiled land surfaces. The SNPP VIIRS DT aerosol includes a single L2 6-minute/6-km swath product.
Product Information
- Deep Blue: Christina Hsu
- Dark Target: Robert Levy
- Deep Blue Project Web Page
- Deep Blue User Guide
- Deep Blue ATBD
- Deep Blue Validation
- Dark Target Project Web Page
- Aerosol Dark Target User Guide
- Dark Target ATBD
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DOI
- Refer to individual product pages (below) for the appropriate DOI, citation text, and file spec for that product
Product Details
Product Name | VIIRS |
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Deep Blue Aerosol L2 6-Min Swath 6 km |
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Deep Blue Level 3 daily aerosol data, 1x1 degree grid |
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Deep Blue Level 3 monthly aerosol data, 1x1 degree grid |
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Dark Target Aerosol L2 6-Min Swath 6 km |
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