MOD04_L2: Global Aerosol Properties from MODIS/Terra Satellite

MODIS/Terra Aerosol 5-Min L2 Swath 10km (MOD04_L2) is a satellite-derived atmospheric dataset providing global aerosol properties. It combines retrievals from the Dark Target algorithm over oceans and dark land and the Deep Blue algorithm over all land surfaces, including bright areas like deserts. The data is provided at a 10 km spatial resolution at nadir in five-minute swaths, stored in HDF-EOS format as part of the improved Collection 6.1.

Use Cases

• Monitoring regional air quality and particulate matter (PM2.5/PM10) based on aerosol optical depth retrievals.
• Tracking long-range transport of dust, smoke, and industrial aerosols using the global, five-minute swath coverage.
• Validating and improving climate models by providing global aerosol optical properties over both land and ocean.
• Studying aerosol impacts on urban air quality using algorithm improvements for urban areas in Collection 6.1.

Strengths

• Provides full global coverage of aerosol properties from a long-running, well-documented NASA satellite mission.
• Offers improved algorithm performance for urban areas and uncertainty estimates in the Collection 6.1 version.
• Combines two established retrieval algorithms (Dark Target and Deep Blue) to cover diverse surface types.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low; specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided in the sources.
• The spatial resolution (10 km at nadir) is coarser than the newer 3 km product (MOD04_3k) intended for air quality applications.
• Data is stored in HDF-EOS format, which may require specialized tools for access and processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing from the MODIS instrument aboard the Terra spacecraft.

Time Range

Coverage from the Terra satellite launch (1999) to present, though specific start date not provided.

Freshness

2026-04-10 00:50:16.671947

Geography

Global