Why is Aerosol Optical Depth
Important?
Aerosols released into the atmosphere from
anthropogenic activity (cars, industry) and natural
events (fires, dust storms) affect human health,
reduce visibility, and alter Earth’s radiation budget.
Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) is a quantitative
estimate of the amount of aerosol present in the
atmosphere, and it can be used as a proxy for
surface Particulate Matter PM2.5 (particles
smaller than 2.5 µm median diameter). AOD
measures the extinction of a ray of light as it
passes through the atmosphere. The rate of
extinction of the light increases as AOD increases.
Aerosol Optical Depth Specifications
Application: Compare this product to aerosol
detection (smoke/dust flag) and visible, GeoColor,
dust RGB imagery. AOD values > 0.5 constitute high
aerosol loading. Typical atmospheric values are
between 0.1 and 0.15. The product is more accurate
over water surfaces than over land surfaces.
Primary Application: Aerosol Optical Depth
quantifies the amount of aerosol in the atmosphere.
The product is useful proxy for air pollution and can
be used in monitoring and forecasting air quality.
Impact on Operations
Limitation: Informative flags that could inform you
why detection does/does not occur (snow/ice, cloud,
etc.) are not included in the AWIPS display.
Daytime only
application: The GOES-16
AOD algorithm uses visible
and near-IR bands and is a
daytime-only product.
Limitations
GOES-16 Aerosol Optical Depth, 1917 UTC 8 February 2018
Contributor: Scott Lindstrom UW CIMSS Revision Date: February 2018
Quick Guide
Aerosol Optical Depth
Domain Temporal Refresh Product Accuracy Resolution
Full Disk 15 minutes Over land:
AOD < 0.04: 0.06 ; 0.04 < AOD < 0.8: 0.04 ;
AOD >0.8: 0.12
Over water:
AOD < 0.40: 0.02 ; AOD > 0.40: 0.10
2 km
CONUS 5 minutes
Limitation: AOD is derived only in snow-free and
cloud-free regions. Use caution if the satellite zenith
angle > 60o. AOD is not computed for Mesoscale
sectors. The baseline AOD algorithm does not
retrieve over bright surfaces. Future updates will
include bright surface retrievals.
