Abstract
This study compares the precision of the satellite-based Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Deep Blue (DB) Collection-51 (C-51) and Collection-06 (C-06) Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD, at 550 nm) products with surface-based aerosol robotic network (AERONET) observations for the period 2002-2013 at the Solar Village, Saudi Arabia. In general, MODIS captures the patterns of AERONET AOD although C 51 tends to underestimate them while C-06 overestimates them. We found a slightly higher correlation for C-06 (0.79) than for C-51 (0.74) over the Solar Village. The C-06 retrievals are typically of better quality than those of C-51 with a smaller root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) and more AODs fall within the expected error range and relative mean bias. Overall, both the C-51 and C-06 MODIS DB algorithms show significant uncertainties and errors. The errors in AOD measurements arise due to imperfect aerosol model schemes and underestimation of surface reflectance over the Solar Village. This study suggests that further quantitative research is required to provide better estimates of satellite-based AOD over Saudi Arabia.