L3 CALIPSO AOD Mean Values vs AOD by aerosol type
Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 6:47 pm America/New_York
Hi there,
On the level 3 tropospheric aerosol profile data users page (https://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov/resou ... 0_desc.php) it indicates that the data product contains the variable AOD_Mean [Dust, Elevated Smoke, Polluted Dust]. The bracketed list at first seemed to imply that the variable "AOD_Mean" only includes optical depth from the three types of aerosols listed.
However, in the downloaded files there are additional variables, including "AOD_Mean_Dust," "AOD_Mean_Polluted_Dust," and "AOD_Mean_Elevated_Smoke," that are not listed in the user guide. I assumed that these variables show the optical depth attributable to each of the three aerosol types, which brings me to my first question:
1) Is this the correct interpretation of these three variables?
When summing the three AOD_Mean_type variables I saw that the summation was less than the AOD_Mean variable, suggesting that AOD_Mean also includes optical depth from aerosol types not in the brackets.
2) Could you confirm that that is also the case (and possibly explain the meaning of the bracketed list, if so)?
Thanks in advance for your help!
On the level 3 tropospheric aerosol profile data users page (https://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov/resou ... 0_desc.php) it indicates that the data product contains the variable AOD_Mean [Dust, Elevated Smoke, Polluted Dust]. The bracketed list at first seemed to imply that the variable "AOD_Mean" only includes optical depth from the three types of aerosols listed.
However, in the downloaded files there are additional variables, including "AOD_Mean_Dust," "AOD_Mean_Polluted_Dust," and "AOD_Mean_Elevated_Smoke," that are not listed in the user guide. I assumed that these variables show the optical depth attributable to each of the three aerosol types, which brings me to my first question:
1) Is this the correct interpretation of these three variables?
When summing the three AOD_Mean_type variables I saw that the summation was less than the AOD_Mean variable, suggesting that AOD_Mean also includes optical depth from aerosol types not in the brackets.
2) Could you confirm that that is also the case (and possibly explain the meaning of the bracketed list, if so)?
Thanks in advance for your help!