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Absorbing Aerosol Index

 
   
 
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page last modified:
08 February 2024
     

The Absorbing Aerosol Index (AAI) indicates the presence of elevated absorbing aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere. The aerosol types that are mostly seen in the AAI are desert dust and biomass burning aerosols. The AAIs provided here are derived from the reflectances measured by GOME-1, SCIAMACHY and GOME-2 at 340 and 380 nm, and from the reflectances measured by OMI at 354 and 388 nm. The pictures below present the most recent AAI measurements obtained by GOME-2 and TROPOMI. Below these there are links to all the aerosol data products that are currently available.

Latest results from GOME-2 and TROPOMI

Latest Absorbing Aerosol Index (AAI) results obtained by GOME-2 (left) and TROPOMI (right)

Archives

The GOME-1 AAI is available from July 1995 to June 2003. Sunglint situations and solar eclipse events are identified and flagged, and observations with too high solar zenith angles are filtered out. Instrument degradation is fully corrected for and current data can be used without restrictions.

The SCIAMACHY AAI is available from July 2002 to April 2012. Due to radiometric degradation of the SCIAMACHY UV channels, the AAI values used to be anomalously high for data measured since about the end of 2004. This problem has been solved and current data can be used without restrictions.

The OMI AAI is available since October 2004 and runs in near-real-time. Sunglint situations and solar eclipse events are filtered out.

The AAI of GOME-2 on the MetOp-A platform is available from January 2007 to November 2021. AAI data from GOME-2 on the MetOp-B platform are available from December 2012 on. AAI data from GOME-2 on the MetOp-C platform are available from January 2019 on.

The TROPOMI AAI images are available since October 2017. Sunglint situations and solar eclipse events are filtered out.

The Multi-Sensor AAI data record MS-AAI combines the AAI from TOMS, GOME-1, SCIAMACHY, OMI, GOME-2A, GOME-2B, and GOME-2C, providing an AAI data record from November 1978 on.



 

TROPOMI Absorbing Aerosol Index


AAI daily images:
 
2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024
 

 

GOME-2 Absorbing Aerosol Index

GOME-2 / MetOp-A:

AAI monthly images:
 
2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021
AAI monthly data files:
 
2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021
AAI daily images (AC SAF style):
 
2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021
AAI daily images (SACS style):
 
2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021
AAI daily gridded data:
 
2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021

GOME-2 / MetOp-B:

AAI monthly images:
 
2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024
AAI monthly data files:
 
2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024
AAI daily images (AC SAF style):
 
2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024
AAI daily images (SACS style):
 
2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024
AAI daily gridded data:
 
2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024

GOME-2 / MetOp-C:

AAI monthly images:
 
2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024
AAI monthly data files:
 
2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024
AAI daily images (AC SAF style):
 
2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024
AAI daily images (SACS style):
 
2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024
AAI daily gridded data:
 
2019 |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024

The data of the GOME-2 Absorbing Aerosol Index are provided by KNMI in the framework of the EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Atmospheric Composition Monitoring (AC SAF).








Data use / License / Citation:

When the data are used in scientific publications, please refer to the following publication:

L.G. Tilstra, O.N.E. Tuinder, and P. Stammes, GOME-2 Absorbing Aerosol Index: Statistical analysis, comparison to GOME-1 and impact of instrument degradation, Proceedings of the 2010 EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference, 2010. (PDF file)

 

Documentation:

  • M. de Graaf, P. Stammes, O. Torres, and R.B.A. Koelemeijer, Absorbing Aerosol Index: Sensitivity analysis, application to GOME and comparison with TOMS, J. Geophys. Res. 110, D010201, doi:10.1029/2004JD005178, 2005.

  • L.G. Tilstra, O.N.E. Tuinder, and P. Stammes, GOME-2 Absorbing Aerosol Index: Statistical analysis, comparison to GOME-1 and impact of instrument degradation, Proceedings of the 2010 EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference, 2010. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, M. de Graaf, O.N.E. Tuinder, R.J. van der A, and P. Stammes, Studying trends in aerosol presence using the Absorbing Aerosol Index derived from GOME-1, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2, Proceedings of the 2011 EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference, 2011. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, O.N.E. Tuinder, and P. Stammes, A new method for in-flight degradation correction of GOME-2 Earth reflectance measurements, with application to the Absorbing Aerosol Index, Proceedings of the 2012 EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference, 2012. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, M. de Graaf, O.N.E. Tuinder, R.J. van der A, and P. Stammes, Monitoring aerosol presence over a 15-year period using the Absorbing Aerosol Index measured by GOME-1, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2, Proceedings of the ESA Living Planet Symposium 2013, ESA Special Publication SP-722, 2014. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, O.N.E. Tuinder, M. de Graaf, and P. Stammes, Comparison of Absorbing Aerosol Index products from GOME-2 and SCIAMACHY, Proceedings of the 2015 EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference, 2015. (PDF file)

 

 

OMI Absorbing Aerosol Index


AAI monthly images:
 
2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021
AAI monthly data files:
 
2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021
AAI daily images:
 
2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021
AAI daily gridded data:
 
2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021
AAI daily level-2 data:
 
2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019 |  2020 |  2021
 
The OMI daily data are available in two flavours:

  • Gridded global daily level-3 data (NetCDF data format)

  • Level-2 data with AAI, time, and geolocation information (NetCDF data format)

The level-2 product that is provided is a subset of the OMI OMAERO product (version 1.1.1).
 

Documentation:


 

 

SCIAMACHY Absorbing Aerosol Index


AAI monthly images:
 
2002 |  2003 |  2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012
AAI monthly data files:
 
2002 |  2003 |  2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012
AAI daily images:
 
2002 |  2003 |  2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012
AAI daily gridded data:
 
2002 |  2003 |  2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012
AAI daily level-2 data:
 
2002 |  2003 |  2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012
AAI daily log files:
 
2002 |  2003 |  2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012

 
The SCIAMACHY daily data are available in two flavours:

  • Gridded global daily level-3 data (NetCDF data format)

  • Level-2 data with AAI, time, and geolocation information (ASCII data format)

The current SCIAMACHY SC-AAI software version is 5.1, based on level-1 data from processor version SCIA/7.04.

 

Data use / License / Citation:

When the data are used in scientific publications, please refer to the following publication:

L.G. Tilstra, M. de Graaf, I. Aben, and P. Stammes, In-flight degradation correction of SCIAMACHY UV reflectances and Absorbing Aerosol Index, J. Geophys. Res. 117, D06209, doi:10.1029/2011JD016957, 2012. (PDF file)

 

Documentation:

  • M. de Graaf and P. Stammes, First verification of SCIAMACHY's Absorbing Aerosol Index product, Proceedings of the Envisat Validation Workshop, ESA Special Publication SP-531, 2003. (PDF file)

  • M. de Graaf, L.G. Tilstra, and P. Stammes, SCIAMACHY Absorbing Aerosol Index: The scientific product compared to the operational product and TOMS data, Proceedings of the Second Workshop on the Atmospheric Chemistry Validation of ENVISAT (ACVE-2), ESA Special Publication SP-562, 2004. (PDF file)

  • M. de Graaf and P. Stammes, SCIAMACHY Absorbing Aerosol Index - calibration issues and global results from 2002-2004, Atmos. Chem. Phys. 5, 2385-2394, doi:10.5194/acp-5-2385-2005, 2005. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, M. de Graaf, S. Noël, I. Aben, and P. Stammes, SCIAMACHY's Absorbing Aerosol Index and the consequences of instrument degradation, Proceedings of the Third Workshop on the Atmospheric Chemistry Validation of ENVISAT (ACVE-3), ESA Special Publication SP-642, 2007. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, M. de Graaf, I. Aben, and P. Stammes, Analysis of 5 years of SCIAMACHY Absorbing Aerosol Index data, Proceedings of the 2007 Envisat Symposium, ESA Special Publication SP-636, 2007. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, M. de Graaf, O.N.E. Tuinder, R.J. van der A, and P. Stammes, Studying trends in aerosol presence using the Absorbing Aerosol Index derived from GOME-1, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2, Proceedings of the 2011 EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference, 2011. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, M. de Graaf, I. Aben, and P. Stammes, In-flight degradation correction of SCIAMACHY UV reflectances and Absorbing Aerosol Index, J. Geophys. Res. 117, D06209, doi:10.1029/2011JD016957, 2012. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, M. de Graaf, O.N.E. Tuinder, R.J. van der A, and P. Stammes, Monitoring aerosol presence over a 15-year period using the Absorbing Aerosol Index measured by GOME-1, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2, Proceedings of the ESA Living Planet Symposium 2013, ESA Special Publication SP-722, 2014. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, O.N.E. Tuinder, M. de Graaf, and P. Stammes, Comparison of Absorbing Aerosol Index products from GOME-2 and SCIAMACHY, Proceedings of the 2015 EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference, 2015. (PDF file)


 

 

GOME-1 Absorbing Aerosol Index


AAI monthly images:
 
1995 |  1996 |  1997 |  1998 |  1999 |  2000 |  2001 |  2002 |  2003
AAI monthly data files:
 
1995 |  1996 |  1997 |  1998 |  1999 |  2000 |  2001 |  2002 |  2003
AAI daily images:
 
1995 |  1996 |  1997 |  1998 |  1999 |  2000 |  2001 |  2002 |  2003
AAI daily gridded data:
 
1995 |  1996 |  1997 |  1998 |  1999 |  2000 |  2001 |  2002 |  2003
AAI daily level-2 data:
 
1995 |  1996 |  1997 |  1998 |  1999 |  2000 |  2001 |  2002 |  2003
AAI daily log files:
 
1995 |  1996 |  1997 |  1998 |  1999 |  2000 |  2001 |  2002 |  2003

 
The GOME-1 daily data are available in two flavours:

  • Gridded global daily level-3 data (NetCDF data format)

  • Level-2 data with AAI, time, and geolocation information (ASCII data format)

The current GOME-1 AAI software version is G1-AAI 5.0, based on level-1 data from processor version GDP/4.00.

 

Data use / License / Citation:

When the data are used in scientific publications, please refer to the following publication:

M. de Graaf, P. Stammes, O. Torres, and R.B.A. Koelemeijer, Absorbing Aerosol Index: Sensitivity analysis, application to GOME and comparison with TOMS, J. Geophys. Res. 110, D010201, doi:10.1029/2004JD005178, 2005.

 

Documentation:

  • M. de Graaf, P. Stammes, O. Torres, and R.B.A. Koelemeijer, Absorbing Aerosol Index: Sensitivity analysis, application to GOME and comparison with TOMS, J. Geophys. Res. 110, D010201, doi:10.1029/2004JD005178, 2005.

  • L.G. Tilstra, O.N.E. Tuinder, and P. Stammes, GOME-2 Absorbing Aerosol Index: Statistical analysis, comparison to GOME-1 and impact of instrument degradation, Proceedings of the 2010 EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference, 2010. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, M. de Graaf, O.N.E. Tuinder, R.J. van der A, and P. Stammes, Studying trends in aerosol presence using the Absorbing Aerosol Index derived from GOME-1, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2, Proceedings of the 2011 EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference, 2011. (PDF file)

  • L.G. Tilstra, M. de Graaf, O.N.E. Tuinder, R.J. van der A, and P. Stammes, Monitoring aerosol presence over a 15-year period using the Absorbing Aerosol Index measured by GOME-1, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2, Proceedings of the ESA Living Planet Symposium 2013, ESA Special Publication SP-722, 2014. (PDF file)

 

 

Multi-Sensor Absorbing Aerosol Index


AAI images and gridded data:
 
AAI daily data package download:
 
AAI monthly data package download:  
 
Download calendar
 
Multi-Sensor_AAI_daily_data_archive.zip
 
Multi-Sensor_AAI_monthly_data_archive.zip
 
  (daily + monthly level-3 data + monthly images)
 
  (daily level-3 data, one file, ~4.5 GB, updated monthly)
 
  (monthly level-3 data, one file, ~310 MB, updated monthly)
 

 
The following data products are available:

  • Daily gridded global level-3 data (NetCDF data format)

  • Monthly gridded global level-3 data (NetCDF data format)

The Multi-Sensor AAI (MS-AAI) data record consists of AAI data from the TOMS, GOME-1, SCIAMACHY, OMI, GOME-2A, GOME-2B, and GOME-2C instruments. The dataset covers the period from 1978 until now and the current software version is 1.9. The data can be downloaded for each individual month via the download calendar or in one go using the package download options.

 

Documentation:

 


 

Tools

 

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