Introducing MISR Version 23: Resolution and Content Improvements to the MISR Aerosol Product and Applications to Air Quality and the Environment

Since early 2000, the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite has been providing operational Level 2 (swath-based) aerosol optical depth (AOD) and particle property retrievals at 17.6 km spatial resolution. A major, multi-year development effort has led to the release of updated operational MISR Level 2 aerosol and land surface retrieval products. The spatial resolution of the product has been increased to 4.4 km, allowing more detailed characterization of aerosol spatial variability, especially near local sources and in urban areas. The product content has been simplified and updated to include more robust measures of retrieval uncertainty and other fields to benefit users.

We will describe the major upgrades incorporated in Version 23, present validation of the aerosol product, and describe some of the applications enabled by these product updates.