MODIS/Aqua Atmospheric Subset for Aerosol and Cloud Analysis

2000s to present data from the MODIS/Aqua satellite provides a subset of key atmospheric parameters. The ATML2 product combines aerosol, cloud, and water vapor data at 10 km and 5 km scales, with a 5x5 pixel sampling of native 1 km cloud data for statistical integrity. This dataset, produced by NASA's LAADS and part of the Collection 6 (C6) processing, is designed to support user-developed Level 3 research algorithms.

Use Cases

• Analyzing aerosol optical depth and particle properties from the 10 km scale aerosol datasets.
• Studying cloud microphysics using native 5 km cloud optical depth and cloud top temperature parameters.
• Investigating atmospheric humidity through water vapor indicator columns.
• Developing custom Level 3 global products using the consistent 5x5 sampling scheme of 1 km cloud data.
• Performing multi-day statistical analyses of cloud reflectance and cirrus properties.

Strengths

• Includes the full suite of QA datasets, enhancing data reliability for analysis.
• Employs a 5x5 pixel sampling scheme for 1 km data proven to retain statistical integrity for multi-day aggregations.
• Data granule file size is smaller than combined individual L2 products, improving practicality for research.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, total size, and a complete column list are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on license information, with one specifying 'other-license-specified' and another listing 'None'.

Provenance

Source

NASA LAADS (Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive & Distribution System)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing from the MODIS instrument aboard the Aqua platform.

Time Range

2000s to present (implied by MODIS/Aqua mission lifetime)

Freshness

2026-03-12 23:52:46.070228

Geography

Global