Spatial characteristics of the difference between MISR and MODIS aerosol optical depth retrievals over mainland Southeast Asia

The difference between aerosol optical depths (AODs) retrieved from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro radiometer (MODIS) is examined over mainland Southeast Asia from a spatial perspective. Though ideally the difference between these measurement methods should be small and randomly distributed over space, our analysis suggests that this difference has a strong negative relationship with MODIS AODs and tend to be spatially clustered. We quantify the spatial dependence in MISR/MODIS AOD differences and explore the extent to which the spatial patterns in these differences can be explained by variables that reflect the influence of physical environment and human activities. While these variables show a strong relationship with MISR/MODIS AOD differences, the results also suggest that further research is needed to fully understand the spatial dependence in these differences. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.