Aerosols and surface UV products from Ozone Monitoring Instrument observations: An overview

We present an overview of the theoretical and algorithmic aspects of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol and surface UV algorithms. Aerosol properties are derived from two independent algorithms. The nearUV algorithm makes use of OMI observations in the 350-390 nm spectral region to retrieve information on the absorption capacity of tropospheric aerosols. OMI-derived information on aerosol absorption includes the UV Aerosol Index and absorption optical depth at 388 nm. The other algorithm makes use of the full UV-to-visible OMI spectral coverage to derive spectral aerosol extinction optical depth. OMI surface UV products include erythemally weighted daily dose as well as erythemal dose rate and spectral UV irradiances calculated for local solar noon conditions. The advantages and limitations of the current algorithms are discussed, and a brief summary of several validation and evaluation analysis carried out to assess the current level of uncertainty of these products is presented.