Articles | Volume 18, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1787-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1787-2025
Research article
 | 
24 Apr 2025
Research article |  | 24 Apr 2025

Towards gridded nighttime aerosol optical thickness retrievals using VIIRS day–night band observations over regions with artificial light sources

Jianglong Zhang, Jeffrey S. Reid, Blake T. Sorenson, Steven D. Miller, Miguel O. Román, Zhuosen Wang, Robert J. D. Spurr, Shawn Jaker, Thomas F. Eck, and Juli I. Rubin

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Cited articles

Benedetti, A., Morcrette, J.-J., Boucher, O., Bethod, A., Engelen, R. J., Fisher, M., Flentje, H., Huneeus, N., Jones, L., Kaiser, J. W., Kimme, S., Mangold, A., Razinger, M., Simmons, A. J., and Suttie, M.: Aerosol analysis and forecast in the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Integrated Forecast System: 2. Data assimilation, J. Geophys. Res., 114, D13205, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD011115, 2009. 
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Eck, T. F., Holben, B. N., Reid, J. S., Dubovik, O., Smirnov, A., O'Neill, N. T., Slutsker, I., and Kinne, S.: Wavelength dependence of the optical depth of biomass burning, urban, and desert dust aerosols, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 31333–31349, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD900923, 1999. 
Garay, M. J., Witek, M. L., Kahn, R. A., Seidel, F. C., Limbacher, J. A., Bull, M. A., Diner, D. J., Hansen, E. G., Kalashnikova, O. V., Lee, H., Nastan, A. M., and Yu, Y.: Introducing the 4.4 km spatial resolution Multi-Angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) aerosol product, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 593–628, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-593-2020, 2020. 
Giles, D. M., Slutsker, I., Schafer, J., Sorokin, M. G., Smirnov, A., Eck, T. F., Holben, B., and Welton, E. J.: Uncertainty and Bias in AERONET Nighttime AOT Measurements, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, abstract #A23R-3050, 2019. 
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Short summary
Using observations from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite day–night band, we developed a method for constructing gridded nighttime aerosol optical thickness (AOT) data based on the spatial derivative of measured top-of-atmosphere attenuated upwelling artificial lights at night. The gridded nighttime AOT retrievals, compared against Aerosol Robotic Network data, show reasonable skill levels for potential data assimilation, air quality, and climate studies of significant events.
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