OMAERO: Aura OMI Multi-wavelength Aerosol Measurements

OMAERO_V003 is a Level-2 satellite aerosol product from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The dataset contains aerosol optical depths and single scattering albedo retrieved using a multi-wavelength algorithm across up to 20 bands between 331 nm and 500 nm. Data is provided as orbital swaths in HDF-EOS5 format, with approximately 14 files generated per day.

Use Cases

• Tracking aerosol plume transport based on geolocated aerosol optical depth measurements.
• Analyzing aerosol composition and particle size using multi-wavelength single scattering albedo retrievals.
• Studying diurnal aerosol patterns from the time-series of approximately 14 orbits per day.
• Validating climate and air quality models with satellite-derived aerosol extinction data.

Strengths

• Algorithmically refined; data was reprocessed in late 2011 using an improved algorithm (version 1.2.3.1).
• Provides multi-wavelength retrieval detail, using up to 20 spectral bands for aerosol characterization.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals established importance and accessibility.

Limitations

• Column names and detailed schema are not provided in the available metadata.
• The 'last updated' date (2026-04-09) is a future date, indicating a metadata error or placeholder.
• Data is from a specific reprocessing (2011) and public release (March 2012), which may not represent the latest algorithmic version.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). Algorithm developed by KNMI OMI Team Scientists.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI).

Time Range

Coverage corresponds to the Aura OMI mission lifetime; specific start/end dates not provided.

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:28:52.719571 (Note: This is a future date, likely a metadata error.)

Geography

Global coverage from satellite orbits.