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Full catalog/DSCOVR_EPIC_L2_AER
DSCOVR_EPIC_L2_AER·v03·dataset

Haze, dust, and smoke seen in UV from deep space (DSCOVR)

DSCOVR EPIC Level 2 UV Aerosol Version 3
atmosphere NASA LARC_CLOUD Level 2 active HDF-EOS5
In plain English

What it measures. Properties of airborne haze, dust, and smoke seen in ultraviolet light, including how much light the particles block, how much they absorb versus scatter, and an index that flags absorbing particles even in cloudy conditions.

How it's made. Derived from the EPIC camera aboard the DSCOVR spacecraft, which views the entire sunlit Earth from a vantage point far out in space, using ultraviolet channels and an aerosol retrieval algorithm.

How & where you'd use it. Helps track wildfire smoke, desert dust, and pollution across the whole daylit globe and study how these particles affect air quality and climate.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLSATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › PARTICULATE MATTERATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESSATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › DUST/ASH/SMOKEATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRYATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD FRACTIONATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESS › UV AEROSOL INDEX

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2015-06-16 → ongoing
  • Measured byDSCOVR (EPIC)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • FormatsHDF-EOS5
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

DSCOVR_EPIC_L2_AER_03 is the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Enhanced Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) Level 2 UV Aerosol Version 3 data product. Observations for this data product are at 340 and 388 nm and are used to derive near UV (ultraviolet) aerosol properties. The EPIC aerosol retrieval algorithm (EPICAERUV) uses a set of aerosol models to account for the presence of carbonaceous aerosols from biomass burning and wildfires (BIO), desert dust (DST), and sulfate-based (SLF) aerosols. These aerosol models are identical to those assumed in the OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) algorithm (Torres et al., 2007; Jethva and Torres, 2011). Aerosol data products generated by the EPICAERUV algorithm are aerosol extinction optical depth (AOD) and single scattering albedo (SSA) at 340, 388, and 500 nm for clear sky conditions. AOD of absorbing aerosols above clouds is also reported (Jethva et al., 2018). In addition, the UV Aerosol Index (UVAI) is calculated from 340 and 388 nm radiances for all sky conditions. AOD is a dimensionless measure of the extinction of light y aerosols due to the combined effect of scattering and absorption. SSA represents the fraction of extinction solely due to aerosol scattering effects. The AI is a residual parameter that quantifies the difference in spectral dependence between measured and calculated near UV radiances, assuming a purely molecular atmosphere. Because most of the observed positive residuals are associated with absorbing aerosols, this parameter is commonly known as the UV Absorbing Aerosol Index. EPIC-derived aerosol parameters are reported at a 10 km (nadir) resolution.

Get the data

dscovr_epic_l2_aer_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="DSCOVR_EPIC_L2_AER",
    version="03",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from LARC_CLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.