AERDB_L2_VIIRS_NOAA20: Satellite-Derived Aerosol Optical Depth at 6 km

55 Science Data Set layers in each netCDF file provide aerosol optical depth retrievals at a 550 nm reference wavelength for daytime cloud-free scenes. The data is produced by the VIIRS instrument on the NOAA-20 satellite, using the heritage Deep Blue algorithm over land and the SOAR algorithm over ocean. This Level 2 product has a nominal 6 km x 6 km resolution at nadir, with a continuous record starting from February 17, 2018.

Use Cases

• Tracking regional air quality trends based on Aerosol Optical Depth (AOT) retrievals.
• Validating atmospheric transport models using geolocated, orbit-level swath data.
• Assessing aerosol radiative forcing for climate studies using spectral AOT and Angstrom exponent data.
• Monitoring dust and smoke plumes from specific events using daytime, cloud-free scene data.

Strengths

• Contains 55 distinct Science Data Set (SDS) layers per file, providing multiple aerosol and quality parameters.
• Uses two established retrieval algorithms (Deep Blue over land, SOAR over ocean) with heritage from SeaWiFS and MODIS.
• Data record is continuous from a specific start date (February 17, 2018).
• Available on multiple platforms (NOAA-20 and SNPP), indicating operational importance and validation.

Limitations

• Critical metadata such as column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided in any source description.
• The 'last updated' metadata field shows a future date (2026-04-09), indicating a potential data entry error or conflict.
• Limited to daytime, cloud-free, and snow-free scenes, reducing spatial and temporal coverage.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the NOAA-20 platform.

Time Range

From February 17, 2018 onward.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:59:50.793294

Geography

Global coverage from satellite swaths.