The inter-comparison of AATSR dual-view aerosol optical thickness retrievals with results from various algorithms and instruments

Abstract

The Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) dual-view (ATSR-DV) aerosol retrieval algorithm is evaluated for a single scene over Germany (49–53˚ N, 7–12˚ E) on 13 October 2005 by comparison of the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 550 nm with products from Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), in addition to the Atmospheric Aerosol Retrieval using Dual-View Angle Reflectance Channels (AARDVARC) algorithm developed at Swansea University. The AOT was retrieved from the AATSR using the ATSR-DV algorithm, for the pixel size of 1 km × 1 km (at nadir). Then these values were meshed to be consistent with the sampling of the products from the other satellite instruments. The ATSR-DV results compare favourably with the products from orbiting optical instruments dedicated to aerosol retrieval, such as MODIS and MISR, which leads to the conclusion that AATSR is well suited for aerosol retrieval over land when the dual view is used with the ATSR-DV algorithm.

Acknowledgements

AERONET is acknowledged with respect to providing ground truth AOT data. The official ESA MERIS AOT product was provided by P. Garnesson (ACRI-ST) in the framework of PROMOTE. The official MISR AOT product was provided by D. Diner. The official PARASOL AOT product was provided by F.-M. Breon. ESA and NASA are acknowledged for providing satellite data. William Grey is supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council.