Validation of the New VIIRS Deep Blue Algorithm with AERONET in Dust Source and Sink Regions

With the impacts dust aerosols have on our climate and air quality it is important to measure them. One such satellite data set is Deep Blue, which provides aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements over land and ocean surfaces. This is valuable when tracking dust aerosols that travel over a variety of different surfaces between their source and sink. Deep Blue has a data record from 1997 to present provided by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and two Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS). These instruments are now either well past their life expectancy (MODIS) or no longer in operation (SeaWiFS). To continue the record, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument, which has similar capabilities to MODIS, will be used. This presentation presents validation results of the new version 1 VIIRS Deep Blue aerosol products, using data from the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET). A diverse set of locations, from dust source to sink over land and ocean, have been selected for this validation, which demonstrates reliable performance of Deep Blue products for various surface conditions.