Aerosol Index from TOMS and OMI Measurements

The aerosol index is a measure of UV absorption by smoke and desert dust. It is computed from 331 and 360 nm radiances and is a useful parameter for tracking global transport of smoke from fire and biomass burning, and dust from the desert storms. One of the unique features of the aerosol index is that it can track dust and smoke over bright surfaces, such as snow and ice, where other satellite techniques are not reliable. The aerosol index is routinely computed from the Total Ozone Monitoring Spectrometer (TOMS) and the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The data from these instruments are available free from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC (http://acdisc.gsfc.nasa.gov/), and the NASA/GSFC TOMS and OMI instruments team site (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/).

This presentation provides some examples of how TOMS and OMI data are used in identifying the sources of air pollution, monitoring the air quality, and understanding the transport of air pollution across the ocean and continents.