A Global Climatology (2005–2021) of Sea-Salt Aerosols Using MODIS and OMI Satellite Data

Abstract

A global climatology of sea-salt aerosols for the 17-year period 2005–2021 is produced with a satellite algorithm that uses input data of spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) and single scattering albedo (SSA) at 388 nm, taken from MODIS-Aqua Collection 6.1 and OMI-Aura Satellite databases, respectively. The results show that the maximum frequency of occurrence of sea-salt aerosols is observed over the Southern Tropical Pacific and Indian oceans, with values up to 60 and 70 days per year, respectively, while on a global mean basis, the sea-salt aerosols are observed with a decreasing frequency from 2005 to 2021.

Keywords

• sea-salt aerosol
• satellite observations
• aerosol optical depth
• single scattering albedo
• absolute frequency of occurrence