An Improved Aerosol Optical Depth Retrieval Algorithm for Moderate to High Spatial Resolution Optical Remotely Sensed Imagery

To extract quantitative land information accurately and monitor the air pollution at city scale from moderate to high spatial resolution (MHSR) with a resolution no coarser than 30 m, optical remotely sensed imagery and aerosol parameters, especially aerosol optical depth (AOD), are a necessary step. In this paper, we introduce a new algorithm that can effectively estimate the spatial distribution of atmospheric aerosols and retrieve surface reflectance from moderate to high spatial resolution imagery under general atmosphere and land surface conditions. This algorithm has been improved in the following three aspects: (i) it has been developed for most of the moderate to high spatial resolution remotely sensed imagery; (ii) it can be applied to all kinds of land surface types including bright surface; and (iii) it is completely automatic. This algorithm is therefore suitable for operational applications. The derived AOD in Beijing from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Huan Jing 1 (HJ-1/CCD) data is validated with AErosol Robotic NETwork (AERONET) ground measurements at Beijng and Xianghe stations.