NASA's Ocean Biology DAAC produces near real-time aerosol optical properties from the PACE OCI instrument. Core variables include aerosol optical depth at specific wavelengths, near-UV aerosol index, and aerosol optical depth over clouds. The data are intended for air-quality and climate analyses, aerosol context for ocean-color atmospheric correction, trend studies, and model evaluation.
Use Cases
- Air-quality analysis based on global aerosol optical depth measurements.
- Climate model evaluation based on aerosol loading and absorption properties.
- Providing aerosol context for ocean-color atmospheric correction based on the companion UV Absorbing Aerosol Index product.
- Trend studies of atmospheric particulates based on near real-time satellite snapshots.
Strengths
- Data are produced in near real-time, providing a snapshot within a single orbit.
- Core variables describe aerosol loading, size partitioning, and absorption.
- Data are global in coverage and mapped.
Limitations
- Near real-time products use less-than-optimal ancillary data and calibration.
- Row count and file size are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
- Users must refer to per-file metadata for quality screening and wavelength availability.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA Ocean Biology DAAC (OB_CLOUD)
- Collection Method
- Satellite remote sensing from the PACE OCI instrument, processed with the Unified Aerosol Algorithm.
- Freshness
- Near real-time
- Geography
- Global