Using satellite aerosol products for monitoring national and regional air quality in Austria

We evaluate the potential of satellite aerosol data for monitoring national and regional air quality in Austria. This work was performed within the framework of the GSE project PROMOTE, and applies aerosol data derived from MERIS onboard ENVISAT. MERIS aerosol data, which are based on the ESA standard algorithm, are provided with a time delay between data acquisition by the satellite to the delivery of the aerosol product of about one day. MERIS local overpass time is about a.m. 10:30. Data are also provided temporally aggregated (monthly, seasonally, and annually). We present a preliminary assessment of the MERIS aerosol dataset, as well as comparisons with the national ground-based in-situ air quality monitoring network. Advantages and limitations of satellite aerosol datasets for air quality monitoring are discussed. Future work will evaluate also aerosol data from other sensors and compare them to MERIS.