Retrieval of Maps of PM2.5 Aerosol in the Problematic California Valleys: Bright, Speckled Reflectances, Thin AOT, but High Pollution

Abstract:

The San Joaquin Valley suffers from severe episodes of respirable aerosol (PM2.5) in wintertime. We provide maps of aerosol episodes using daily snapshots of PM2.5 and its changing features despite numerous difficulties inherent to sampling the region, with special focus on the DISCOVER-AQ period, Jan-Feb 2013, which had many supporting measurements. Both high pollution and retrieval difficulties tend to occur in many Mediterranean agricultural regions. One difficulty is the relatively bright surfaces with considerable exposed soil. NASA’s MAIAC and MODIS Deep Blue retrieval techniques are shown to have considerable skill even at low aerosol optical thickness (AOT) values, as evaluated by concurrent AERONET sunphotometer measurements. More significantly, these AOT values can correspond to high daytime PM2.5 since aerosol mixed layer depth is thin and variable, 200m – 600 m. The thin layers derive from typical subsidence of dry air between more stormy periods. This situation provides an advantage: water vapor column is also almost completely limited to a similar mixed layer depth, and can thus serve as a measure of aerosol dilution. The ratio of AOT to column-water-vapor from MODIS products provides two advantages: (1) it can provide a measure related to particle density, via a mixed-layer proxy, and (2) it can ratio out some errors that crop up in the retrieval of very low AOT, e.g. bidirectional reflectance and other angular dependences. These effects are combined, so we disentangle them using AERONET data. Data from the NASA Langley HSRL-2 lidar and in-situ measurements from DISCOVER-AQ are also helpful. At the time of abstract submission, sporadic errors in the column water estimates provide the greatest limitation.

Looking to the near future, we suggest why the use of geostationary TEMPO data will allow multiple sampling opportunities per day, supplementary or alternative information for AOT, aerosol absorption, and even column water.