Other Names
Extinction Coefficient
Definition
It is a measure of attenuation of the light passing through the atmosphere due to the scattering and absorption by aerosol particles.
Extinction coefficient is the fractional depletion of radiance per unit path length (also called attenuation especially in reference to radar frequencies). It has units of km-1. The integrated extinction coefficient over a vertical column of unit cross section is called aerosol optical depth or optical thickness.
Applications
| (1) Atmospheric correction of remotely sensed surface features | (5) Air Quality |
| (2) Monitoring of sources and sinks of aerosols | (6) Health and Environment |
| (3) Monitoring of volcanic eruptions and forest fire | (7) Earth Radiation Budget |
| (4) Radiative Transfer Model | (8) Climate Change |
GES DISC Datasets
Quick Search for 'Aerosol Extinction Profiles' with Mirador
Click on the corresponding 'Data access' links in the table below to access products containing specific parameter.
| Parameter | Units | Platform /Instrument | Data Products |
|---|
| Begin Date | End Date | Data Access | Doc |
|---|
| Aerosol Extinction Profiles | km -1 | Aura/HIRDLS | | | HIRDLS2 | Y |
|
| Aerosol Extinctions Profiles for 2.45, 2.80, 3.40, 3.46, and 5.26 μm ( at 32 to 200 atmospheric levels) | km -1 | UARS/HALOE | 1991-10-11 | 2005-11-21 | UARHA2FN | Y |
| UARHA3AT | Y |
| Aerosol Extinctions Profiles for 780, 790, 840, 880, 925, 1257, 1605, and 1897 cm-1 ( at 20 atmospheric levels) | km -1 | UARS/CLAES | 1991-10-25 | 1993-05-05 | UARCL3AL | Y |
| UARCL3AT | Y |
| Aerosol Extinction Profile for 6.23 μm (at 25 atmospheric levels), and for 12.1 μm ( at 9 atmospheric levels) | km -1 | UARS/ISAMS | 1991-09-26 | 1992-07-29 | UARIS3AL | Y |
| UARIS3AT | Y |
Other sources for data
Atmos Composition
