Diurnal Variability of Aerosol Properties Observed by DSCOVR/EPIC Instrument

Near-hourly measured radiances at 340 nm and 388 nm from the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) sensor onboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite are used as input to the EPIC near-UV aerosol algorithm (EPICAERUV) for retrieving aerosol extinction optical depth (AOD), single scattering albedo (SSA), above-cloud aerosol optical depth (ACAOD), and ultraviolet Aerosol Index. We carry out an evaluation of EPIC-retrieved AOD and SSA using ground-based observations and validate retrievals of ACAOD against airborne direct measurements. We also analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of specific smoke events caused by wildfires over North America over the last four years. Moreover, we take advantage of EPICs unique near-hourly observing capability to investigate the diurnal variability of aerosols for major aerosol events including smoke from biomass burning/wildfires and dust storms in deserts with mixtures of urban/industrial pollutants around world.