DATA VISUALIZATION
• + Synergy Tool
• + Map Explorer

AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH (V3)-SOLAR
• + Data Display
• + Download Tool
• + Download All Sites
• + Climatology Tables
• + Web Service

AEROSOL INVERSIONS (V3)
• + Data Display
• + Download Tool
• + Download All Sites
• + Web Service

SOLAR FLUX
• + Data Display

OCEAN COLOR
• + V3 Data Display
• + V3 Web Service
• + Download All Sites

LUNAR AOD (V3)
• + Data Display
• + Download Tool
• + Download All Sites
• + Web Service

ZENITH RADIANCE (V3)
• + Web Service
CLOUD MODE (V2) - PROVISIONAL
• + Data Display

Aerosol measurement observations from ground-based sun photometers and sun/sky radiometers have played a critical role in developing, reformulating and validating satellite algorithms to characterize aerosol optical depth, modal aerosol retrievals and single scattering albedo among other parameters.   New and improved algorithms are being developed for current and future satellite missions that will place a greater demand on the accuracy and fidelity of the ground-based measurements for validation, multi data set synergism and long-term climate research.  Heretofore satellite validation studies using sun and sky scanning spectral radiometer measurements such as AERONET have relied on point observations extrapolated to a two dimensional domain to compare to the satellite retrieval.  Additionally few of the ground-based remote sensing measurements have had a rigorous comparison or validation against other ground-based measurements particularly in situ observations of aerosol size and absorption.  DRAGON-USA will provide a data set to address satellite validation and in situ comparisons.

+ DRAGON White Paper

• Establish a mesoscale gridded network of sun photometers that encompasses, urban, agricultural, mountainous, and maritime landscapes over the southeast US
• Optimize the grid to validate/collaborate inversion products in conjunction with aircraft flights performing in situ measurements
• Optimize the gridded network to validate satellite retrievals from 50 m to 10 Km pixel resolution
• Supplement the gridded network with non gridded sites to capture aerosol variability
• Develop a geo-referenced database that will accommodate supplementary/complimentary data sets

In support of the NASA Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS), ~15 AERONET sites will be established across the Southeast United States to provide the first coherent regional ground network of sun photometer data. Many of the new sites will be setup in collaboration with IMPROVE, SEARCH, and US EPA NERL as well as participating schools and universities.

In August and September 2013, the NASA DC-8 and ER-2 aircraft will fly over the continental US to investigate the influence of biomass burning smoke and pollution, their temporal evolution, and impacts on meteorological processes and feedbacks into regional air quality. Aircraft sampling regions are anticipated over the western and southeast United States. SEAC4RS activities will dovetail with DRAGON-USA Houston where 15 AERONET instruments deployed in the Houston, Texas metropolitan region to the Gulf of Mexico in support of NASA DISCOVER-AQ P3-B and King Air air quality research flights occurring in September 2013.

Figure 1. SEAC4RS Southeast US 2013 Site Distribution

DRAGON Text Lists

+ Level 1.0 AOD Data (TXT)
+ Level 1.5 AOD Data (TXT)
+ Level 2.0 AOD Data (TXT)

DRAGON Google Earth Distribution

+ Level 1.0 AOD Data (Google Earth KMZ)
+ Level 1.5 AOD Data (Google Earth KMZ)
+ Level 2.0 AOD Data (Google Earth KMZ)