Three-dimensional distribution of aerosols of multiple types at daily scale using TROPOMI spaceborne observations

We present new satellite-based daily observations of the 3D distribution of aerosols from most common types and origins, both over land and ocean, derived from TROpospheric Ozone Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) measurements. This is done using the so-called AEROS5P (AEROsol Sentinel 5 Precursor) approach which retrieves vertical profiles of aerosol extinction from passive measurements of high-resolution spectral reflectance in the visible and near infrared for cloud-free conditions. Previous work demonstrated the potential of this approach, but it was initially applicable only to biomass burning aerosols with limited spatial coverage over ocean. The new methodology presented here generalizes the method for the most common aerosol types and improves spatial coverage. We take advantage of an operational aerosol type product derived from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) observations, combined with those from TROPOMI, to choose a priori aerosol set of intensive properties (particle size and refractive index). AEROS5P shows good agreement in aerosol optical depth, when compared to observations from AErosol RObotic NETwork and other widely used satellite measurements. Additionally, the vertical distribution of aerosol plumes of different types derived from AEROS5P agrees well with lidar coincident observations from the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System spaceborne sensor and ground-based measurements. We utilize AEROS5P to analyze the three-dimensional distribution of aerosols for four different scenarios. It traces the three-dimensional pathways of smoke from Canadian wildfires reaching the Eastern USA in July 2023, desert dust from the Namibian deserts over the southeast Atlantic Ocean confined near the surface during the same month, fine aerosol pollution over Western Europe during June 2019, and an extreme dust event mixed with fine aerosol pollution over Northern China in March 2021. These observations provide valuable insights into aerosol transport patterns, surface-level air quality impacts, and can potentially be used to assess the radiative effects at various atmospheric layers.