A New Algorithm for Himawari-8 Aerosol Optical Depth Retrieval by Integrating Regional PM₂.₅ Concentrations

The advanced Himawari imager (AHI) onboard Himawari-8 can provide full-disk observations with high temporal resolution (10 min), which has outstanding advantages for dynamic real-time aerosol monitoring in East Asia. In this study, a new aerosol retrieval algorithm for AHI by integrating regional PM _2.5 concentrations (IRPAR) was proposed. The IRPAR algorithm constructed the surface reflectance library by integrating regional PM _2.5 levels as a quantitative indicator of atmospheric aerosol loadings. The IRPAR algorithm was used to obtain the aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals over Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region from March 2019 to February 2020, and its performance was preliminarily evaluated by aerosol robotic network (AERONET) measurements. The results showed that the IRPAR algorithm was able to obtain more highly accurate AOD retrievals compared to the JAXA L2 algorithm during the autumn in BTH region, with a large $R$ of 0.87 (0.71 for JAXA L2 AOD) and a global climate observing system fraction (GCOSF) percentage of 28% (21% for JAXA L2 AOD). During different daytime hours, the IRPAR AOD showed a stable retrieval performance, while the JAXA L2 AOD exhibited a worst performance from 12:00 to 14:00 Beijing standard time (BST). These results demonstrated that the IRPAR algorithm was relatively less affected by the viewing angle. Future work will require a comprehensive evaluation of the IRPAR algorithm on a larger spatial scale.