Satellite Ocean Aerosol Retrieval (SOAR) Algorithm Extension to S-NPP VIIRS as Part of the “Deep Blue” Aerosol Project

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JGRAtmospheres2017SayerSatelliteOceanAerosolRetrievalSOARAlgorithmExtensiontoSNPPVIIRSasPartofthe.pdf (5.16 MB)

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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/2017JD027412

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https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027412
 http://hdl.handle.net/11603/33383

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UMBC GESTAR II

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Author/Creator ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9149-1789

Date

2017-11-17

Type of Work

journal articles
Text

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Program

Citation of Original Publication

Sayer, A. M., N. C. Hsu, J. Lee, C. Bettenhausen, W. V. Kim, and A. Smirnov. “Satellite Ocean Aerosol Retrieval (SOAR) Algorithm Extension to S-NPP VIIRS as Part of the ‘Deep Blue’ Aerosol Project.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 123, no. 1 (2018): 380–400. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027412.

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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
Public Domain

Subjects

aerosol
Deep Blue
ocean
retrieval
SOAR
VIIRS

Abstract

The Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite, launched in late 2011, carries the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and several other instruments. VIIRS has similar characteristics to prior satellite sensors used for aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieval, allowing the continuation of space-based aerosol data records. The Deep Blue algorithm has previously been applied to retrieve AOD from Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measurements over land. The SeaWiFS Deep Blue data set also included a SeaWiFS Ocean Aerosol Retrieval (SOAR) algorithm to cover water surfaces. As part of NASA's VIIRS data processing, Deep Blue is being applied to VIIRS data over land, and SOAR has been adapted from SeaWiFS to VIIRS for use over water surfaces. This study describes SOAR as applied in version 1 of NASA's S-NPP VIIRS Deep Blue data product suite. Several advances have been made since the SeaWiFS application, as well as changes to make use of the broader spectral range of VIIRS. A preliminary validation against Maritime Aerosol Network (MAN) measurements suggests a typical uncertainty on retrieved 550 nm AOD of order ±(0.03+10%), comparable to existing SeaWiFS/MODIS aerosol data products. Retrieved Ångström exponent and fine-mode AOD fraction are also well correlated with MAN data, with small biases and uncertainty similar to or better than SeaWiFS/MODIS products.