Maritime aerosol network as a component of AERONET – first results and comparison with global aerosol models and satellite retrievals

• Published in: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
• Main Authors: A. Smirnov, B. N. Holben, D. M. Giles, I. Slutsker, N. T. O'Neill, T. F. Eck, A. Macke, P. Croot, Y. Courcoux, S. M. Sakerin, T. J. Smyth, T. Zielinski, G. Zibordi, J. I. Goes, M. J. Harvey, P. K. Quinn, N. B. Nelson, V. F. Radionov, C. M. Duarte, R. Losno, J. Sciare, K. J. Voss, S. Kinne, N. R. Nalli, E. Joseph, K. Krishna Moorthy, D. S. Covert, S. K. Gulev, G. Milinevsky, P. Larouche, S. Belanger, E. Horne, M. Chin, L. A. Remer, R. A. Kahn, J. S. Reid, M. Schulz, C. L. Heald, J. Zhang, K. Lapina, R. G. Kleidman, J. Griesfeller, B. J. Gaitley, Q. Tan, T. L. Diehl
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2011
• Subjects: Environmental engineering; TA170-171; Earthwork. Foundations; TA715-787; Arctic; Southern Ocean; Arctic Ocean; Pacific; Indian
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-4-583-2011; https://doaj.org/article/abacd66a1dc2443daa4162a57bc8f3a3

The Maritime Aerosol Network (MAN) has been collecting data over the oceans since November 2006. Over 80 cruises were completed through early 2010 with deployments continuing. Measurement areas included various parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Northern and Southern Pacific Ocean, the South Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and inland seas. MAN deploys Microtops hand-held sunphotometers and utilizes a calibration procedure and data processing traceable to AERONET. Data collection included areas that previously had no aerosol optical depth (AOD) coverage at all, particularly vast areas of the Southern Ocean. The MAN data archive provides a valuable resource for aerosol studies in maritime environments. In the current paper we present results of AOD measurements over the oceans, and make a comparison with satellite AOD retrievals and model simulations.