DSCOVR EPIC MAIAC: Global Aerosol, Land, and Ocean Properties at 10 km

DSCOVR EPIC's MAIAC algorithm simultaneously retrieves aerosol layer height, optical depth, and spectral absorption by matching measurements across ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths, including oxygen absorption bands. The version 03 product provides a 10 km resolution interdisciplinary suite covering atmospheric aerosols, land surface reflectance, and ocean water-leaving reflectance on a zonal sinusoidal grid. Data collection is ongoing with observations at a 1-to-2-hour frequency, enabling near-daily global monitoring from the Deep Space Climate Observatory's unique Lagrange point 1 vantage.

Use Cases

• Tracking biomass burning or dust plume vertical distribution based on Aerosol Layer Height (ALH) and Spectral Absorption Exponent (SAE).
• Analyzing surface BRDF and vegetation dynamics using atmospherically corrected bidirectional reflectance factors and gap-filled NDVI composites.
• Studying aerosol absorption properties and single scattering albedo across six spectral bands from 340nm to 780nm.
• Monitoring ocean color in UV-Visible bands via water-leaving reflectance over global waters.
• Validating climate and air quality models with near-real-time, globally gridded aerosol optical depth at 443nm and 551nm.

Strengths

• Provides a unique, simultaneous retrieval of multiple aerosol optical properties (AOD, ALH, k0, SAE) using EPIC's multi-angle observations in the UV-NIR range.
• Offers global coverage at a consistent 10 km spatial resolution with a high 1-to-2-hour temporal frequency from the DSCOVR satellite.
• Delivers an interdisciplinary product suite covering atmosphere (clouds, aerosols), land (BRF, BRDF, NDVI), and ocean (reflectance).

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided across any platform, hindering precise technical assessment.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov without further detail, requiring clarification for reuse.
• The described data appears to be visual plots (PNG) derived from the underlying scientific product, which may limit direct analytical use compared to the raw data files.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), processed with the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm version 03.

Time Range

Ongoing; data collection is active.

Freshness

2026-04-10 01:25:26.146251

Geography

Global coverage on a zonal sinusoidal grid.