Characterizing Uncertainty in Global Aerosol Retrievals from Multiple Spaceborne Sensors

Abstract:

Complementary global aerosol products have been routinely available from multiple spaceborne sensors, including MODIS (on Terra and Aqua), MISR, OMI, POLDER, CALIOP, SeaWiFS, and VIIRS. However, a variety of studies suggest that individual aerosol products have significant differences in the geographic distribution of their retrieval uncertainties. Nonetheless, it can be difficult or impractical to track down relevant product validation studies and invest time in mastering the proprietary file formats of these aerosol products. As a result, many studies are performed using data from one or two most familiar products that, oftentimes, may not be optimal for a given region of interest.

In this presentation, we will use Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and Maritime Aerosol Network (MAN) data within the framework of the Multi-sensor Aerosol Products Sampling System (MAPSS) to catalog the accuracy of aerosol retrievals from the spaceborne sensors listed above. We will report our findings in analyzing the spatial and temporal distributions of the uncertainties in the global over-land and maritime retrievals of aerosols based on inter-comparing spaceborne data with coincident ground-based measurements from both AERONET and MAN. We will also explain our vision of how this analysis can be used as a base for a multi-sensor aerosol product package that would help end users to make a more informed choice when selecting data for their regions of interest.