Climatology of aerosol component concentrations derived from multi-angular polarimetric POLDER-3 observations using GRASP algorithm

Abstract

The study presents a climatology of aerosol composition concentrations obtained by a recently developed algorithm approach, namely the Generalized Retrieval of Atmosphere and Surface Properties (GRASP)/Component. It is applied to the whole archive of observations from the POLarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances (POLDER-3). The conceptual specifics of the GRASP/Component approach is in the direct retrieval of aerosol speciation (component fraction) without intermediate retrievals of aerosol optical characteristics. Although a global validation of the derived aerosol component product is challenging, the results obtained are in line with general knowledge about aerosol types in different regions. In addition, we compare the GRASP-derived black carbon (BC) and dust components with those of the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2) product. Quite a reasonable general agreement was found between the spatial and temporal distribution of the species provided by GRASP and MERRA-2. The differences, however, appeared in regions known for strong biomass bu