DSCOVR EPIC Level 2 UV Aerosol Version 3

DSCOVR_EPIC_L2_AER_03 is the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Enhanced Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) Level 2 UV Aerosol Version 3 data product. Observations for this data product are at 340 and 388 nm and are used to derive near UV aerosol properties. The EPIC aerosol retrieval algorithm (EPICAERUV) uses a set of aerosol models to account for the presence of carbonaceous aerosols from biomass burning and wild fires (BIO), desert dust (DST), and sulfate-based (SLF) aerosols. These aerosol models are identical to those assumed in the OMI algorithm (Torres et al., 2007; Jethva and Torres, 2011).

Aerosol data products generated by the EPICAERUV algorithm are aerosol extinction optical depth (AOD) and single scattering albedo (SSA) at 340, 388 and 500 nm for clear sky conditions. AOD of absorbing aerosols above clouds is also reported (Jethva et al., 2018). In addition, the UV Aerosol Index (UVAI) is calculated from 340 and 388 nm radiances for all sky conditions. AOD is a dimensionless measure of the extinction of light y aerosols due to the combined effect of scattering and absorption. SSA represents the fraction of extinction solely due to aerosol scattering effects. The AI is simply a residual parameter that quantifies the difference in spectral dependence between measured and calculated near UV radiances assuming a purely molecular atmosphere. Because most of the observed positive residuals are associated with the presence of absorbing aerosols, this parameter is commonly known as the UV Absorbing Aerosol Index. EPIC-derived aerosol parameters are reported at a 10 km (nadir) resolution.