An Empirical Parameterization to Separate Coarse and Fine Mode Aerosol Optical Depth Over Land

Abstract Retrieving the fine‐mode fraction (FMF) of aerosol optical depth from satellite data is crucial for understanding the impact of natural versus anthropogenic aerosols on climate and air quality. However, few high‐quality global FMF products from MODIS exist. To address this gap, this study d...

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Main Authors: Xiaohan Li, Paul Ginoux
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-03-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL114397
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author Xiaohan Li
Paul Ginoux
author_facet Xiaohan Li
Paul Ginoux
author_sort Xiaohan Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Retrieving the fine‐mode fraction (FMF) of aerosol optical depth from satellite data is crucial for understanding the impact of natural versus anthropogenic aerosols on climate and air quality. However, few high‐quality global FMF products from MODIS exist. To address this gap, this study derives a new formulation of FMF as a function of the Ångström exponent (AE) based on over 20 years of AERONET measurements. Our results reveal a consistent FMF‐AE relationship across continental regions, supporting the feasibility of globally estimating FMF through a simple empirical function based on AE. Validation with independent NOAA GML data sets shows predicted FMF errors mostly within 0.1. Finally, applying this parameterization to MODIS Aqua and Terra data significantly improved satellite‐derived FMF agreement with AERONET compared to previous derivations. This parameterization provides a simple, valuable tool for accurately deriving FMF over land from MODIS and understanding its impact on climate and air quality.
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spelling doaj-art-220e7fa5ca0e48c5821fd3f23a3a49082025-08-20T03:10:57ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-03-01526n/an/a10.1029/2024GL114397An Empirical Parameterization to Separate Coarse and Fine Mode Aerosol Optical Depth Over LandXiaohan Li0Paul Ginoux1Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program Princeton University Princeton NJ USANOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Princeton NJ USAAbstract Retrieving the fine‐mode fraction (FMF) of aerosol optical depth from satellite data is crucial for understanding the impact of natural versus anthropogenic aerosols on climate and air quality. However, few high‐quality global FMF products from MODIS exist. To address this gap, this study derives a new formulation of FMF as a function of the Ångström exponent (AE) based on over 20 years of AERONET measurements. Our results reveal a consistent FMF‐AE relationship across continental regions, supporting the feasibility of globally estimating FMF through a simple empirical function based on AE. Validation with independent NOAA GML data sets shows predicted FMF errors mostly within 0.1. Finally, applying this parameterization to MODIS Aqua and Terra data significantly improved satellite‐derived FMF agreement with AERONET compared to previous derivations. This parameterization provides a simple, valuable tool for accurately deriving FMF over land from MODIS and understanding its impact on climate and air quality.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL114397aerosolMODISFMFAODAERONETclimate
spellingShingle Xiaohan Li
Paul Ginoux
An Empirical Parameterization to Separate Coarse and Fine Mode Aerosol Optical Depth Over Land
Geophysical Research Letters
aerosol
MODIS
FMF
AOD
AERONET
climate
title An Empirical Parameterization to Separate Coarse and Fine Mode Aerosol Optical Depth Over Land
title_full An Empirical Parameterization to Separate Coarse and Fine Mode Aerosol Optical Depth Over Land
title_fullStr An Empirical Parameterization to Separate Coarse and Fine Mode Aerosol Optical Depth Over Land
title_full_unstemmed An Empirical Parameterization to Separate Coarse and Fine Mode Aerosol Optical Depth Over Land
title_short An Empirical Parameterization to Separate Coarse and Fine Mode Aerosol Optical Depth Over Land
title_sort empirical parameterization to separate coarse and fine mode aerosol optical depth over land
topic aerosol
MODIS
FMF
AOD
AERONET
climate
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL114397
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