AERDB_D3_VIIRS_NOAA20: Daily Global Aerosol Measurements at 1-Degree Grid

Daily records from January 5, 2018, onward provide global aerosol optical depth and related atmospheric measurements. The dataset is a Level 3 aggregated product derived from NOAA-20 satellite's VIIRS sensor, containing 45 science data layers per daily file. Each 1x1 degree grid cell represents quality-filtered arithmetic means and standard deviations, requiring at least three valid satellite retrievals per day.

Use Cases

• Tracking long-term aerosol trends and seasonal patterns based on daily global time-series data.
• Modeling aerosol radiative forcing for climate studies using aerosol optical depth and Angstrom exponent layers.
• Assessing regional air quality and particulate pollution dispersion across the 1-degree global grid.
• Validating atmospheric transport models with satellite-derived aerosol optical depth measurements.

Strengths

• Contains 45 distinct science data set (SDS) layers per daily file, providing multiple aerosol and ancillary variables.
• Data aggregation employs quality assurance (QA) filtering and requires a minimum of three valid retrievals per grid cell per day.
• Provides a consistent daily record with a defined start date of January 5, 2018.

Limitations

• Column names and a complete data dictionary are not provided in the available metadata, limiting immediate usability.
• Spatial resolution is coarse (1x1 degree), which may not capture local aerosol variations.
• Metadata conflicts exist: one source lists an 'other-license-specified' license while another lists 'None'.

Provenance

Source

NASA LAADS (Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive & Distribution System), derived from NOAA-20 satellite VIIRS sensor.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing retrievals processed through the Deep Blue algorithm (Version 2.0) and aggregated from 6-minute swath (L2) to daily gridded (L3) products.

Time Range

2018-01-05 to present (ongoing daily collection).

Freshness

Last updated metadata date is 2026-04-09 according to two sources.

Geography

Global coverage on a 1x1 degree latitude/longitude grid.