MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Radio Spectrometer) data were analyzed to determine if different aerosol types, i.e. desert dust, forest fire smoke, and human produced (anthropogenic) aerosols, can be identified using the angstrom coefficient. Aerosol optical depths, fine mode ratios, and angs... Show moreMODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Radio Spectrometer) data were analyzed to determine if different aerosol types, i.e. desert dust, forest fire smoke, and human produced (anthropogenic) aerosols, can be identified using the angstrom coefficient. Aerosol optical depths, fine mode ratios, and angstrom coefficients over land and ocean were mapped and statistically evaluated for fourteen different MODIS five minute granules. The granules were chosen based on known aerosol types that were emitted in each location from Earth Observing System (EOS) images. MODIS data for eleven of the fourteen cases were consistent with previous AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) studies that established a correlation between the angstrom coefficient and aerosol type. Aerosols of the coarse fraction (desert dust) had angstrom coefficients from 0.0 to 0.5, and aerosols of the fine fraction (forest fire smoke and anthropogenic emissions) had angstrom coefficients from 1.0 to 1.5. Although the results for the eleven cases suggest that MODIS data can be used to identify the coarse fraction from the fine, ambiguity exists in differentiating forest fire smoke and anthropogenic aerosols. Show less
