Monitoring and tracking the trans-Pacific transport of aerosols using multi-satellite aerosol optical depth composites
The primary goal of this study was to generate a near-real time (NRT) aerosol optical depth (AOD) product capable of providing a comprehensive understanding of the aerosol spatial distribution over the Pacific Ocean, in order to better monitor and track the trans-Pacific transport of aerosols. There...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2016-06-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| Online Access: | http://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/9/2463/2016/amt-9-2463-2016.pdf |
| Summary: | The primary goal of this study was to generate a near-real time (NRT)
aerosol optical depth (AOD) product capable of providing a comprehensive
understanding of the aerosol spatial distribution over the Pacific Ocean, in
order to better monitor and track the trans-Pacific transport of aerosols.
Therefore, we developed a NRT product that takes advantage of observations
from both low-earth orbiting and geostationary satellites. In particular, we
utilize AOD products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) and Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Visible Infrared
Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) satellites. Then, we combine these AOD
products with our own retrieval algorithms developed for the NOAA
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-15) and Japan
Meteorological Agency (JMA) Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT-2)
to generate a NRT daily AOD composite product. We present examples of the
daily AOD composite product for a case study of trans-Pacific transport of
Asian pollution and dust aerosols in mid-March 2014. Overall, the new
product successfully tracks this aerosol plume during its trans-Pacific
transport to the west coast of North America as the frequent geostationary
observations lead to a greater coverage of cloud-free AOD retrievals
equatorward of about 35° N, while the polar-orbiting satellites
provide a greater coverage of AOD poleward of 35° N. However, we
note several areas across the domain of interest from Asia to North America
where the GOES-15 and MTSAT-2 retrieval algorithms can introduce significant
uncertainties into the new product. |
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| ISSN: | 1867-1381 1867-8548 |