Advanced characterization of the diurnal variations of aerosol optical and microphysical properties by SYREMIS/GRASP synergistic retrieval algorithm using observations from multiple spaceborne sensors
Abstract
Accurate characterization of the diurnal variation of aerosol optical and microphysical properties—including Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Angstrom Exponent (AE), and Single Scattering Albedo (SSA)—is fundamental for climate and air quality modeling. However, retrieving high-temporal-resolution, physically consistent aerosol products from multiple satellite instruments remains a challenge. Current multi-satellite approaches often rely on “post-retrieval” merging of independent Level-2 products, a process that frequently introduces physical inconsistencies and artificial temporal oscillations. To address this, building upon the recently established SYREMIS/GRASP synergetic retrieval framework (Litvinov et al., 2025), an inversion approach based on harmonized Level-1 satellite measurements, this study extensively evaluates its performance in capturing aerosol diurnal variability. We evaluate two configurations: (i) LEO + LEO synergy (Sentinel-3 A/B OLCI and Sentinel-5P TROPOMI) and (ii) LEO + GEO synergy (integrating Himawari-8 AHI). By enforcing multi-pixel smoothness constraints within the retrieval, SYREMIS maintains high physical consistency across instruments, effectively mitigating the structural discrepancies and “noise” inherent in standard merging techniques. Our validation against AERONET ground-based data and intercomparison with the XAERDT product suite confirm that SYREMIS provides high retrieval stability and accuracy. Without applying post-retrieval quality filtering, SYREMIS achieves an AOD GCOS fulfillment percentage of up to 70%, an AE RMSE below 0.3, and an SSA “Optimal” requirement fulfillment rate of up to 85% at representative sites. We demonstrate the framework's capability to resolve rapid aerosol dynamics through case studies of biomass-burning events over Thailand and Myanmar, as well as dust pollution over Qatar in 2019. As a three-month proof-of-concept assessment (March–May 2019) , these results highlight the practical capability of the established SYREMIS/GRASP approach to generate high-resolution, physically consistent, and stable aerosol data records from the measurements of multiple satellites.
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BibTeX
@article{zhai2026advanced,
title = {{Advanced characterization of the diurnal variations of aerosol optical and microphysical properties by SYREMIS/GRASP synergistic retrieval algorithm using observations from multiple spaceborne sensors}},
author = {Siyao Zhai and Pavel Litvinov and Cheng Chen and Oleg Dubovik and Christian Matar and Goyo Cancio and Chong Li and Anton Lopatin and David Fuertes and Tatyana Lapyonok and Manuel Dornacher and Arthur Lehner and Alexandru Dandocsi and Daniele Gasbarra and Elody Fluck and Christian Retscher},
journal = {Remote Sensing of Environment},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1016/j.rse.2026.115739},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05855170v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Advanced characterization of the diurnal variations of aerosol optical and microphysical properties by SYREMIS/GRASP synergistic retrieval algorithm using observations from multiple spaceborne sensors
AU - Siyao Zhai
AU - Pavel Litvinov
AU - Cheng Chen
AU - Oleg Dubovik
AU - Christian Matar
AU - Goyo Cancio
AU - Chong Li
AU - Anton Lopatin
AU - David Fuertes
AU - Tatyana Lapyonok
AU - Manuel Dornacher
AU - Arthur Lehner
AU - Alexandru Dandocsi
AU - Daniele Gasbarra
AU - Elody Fluck
AU - Christian Retscher
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - Remote Sensing of Environment
DO - 10.1016/j.rse.2026.115739
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05855170v1
AB - Accurate characterization of the diurnal variation of aerosol optical and microphysical properties—including Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Angstrom Exponent (AE), and Single Scattering Albedo (SSA)—is fundamental for climate and air quality modeling. However, retrieving high-temporal-resolution, physically consistent aerosol products from multiple satellite instruments remains a challenge. Current multi-satellite approaches often rely on “post-retrieval” merging of independent Level-2 products, a process that frequently introduces physical inconsistencies and artificial temporal oscillations. To address this, building upon the recently established SYREMIS/GRASP synergetic retrieval framework (Litvinov et al., 2025), an inversion approach based on harmonized Level-1 satellite measurements, this study extensively evaluates its performance in capturing aerosol diurnal variability. We evaluate two configurations: (i) LEO + LEO synergy (Sentinel-3 A/B OLCI and Sentinel-5P TROPOMI) and (ii) LEO + GEO synergy (integrating Himawari-8 AHI). By enforcing multi-pixel smoothness constraints within the retrieval, SYREMIS maintains high physical consistency across instruments, effectively mitigating the structural discrepancies and “noise” inherent in standard merging techniques. Our validation against AERONET ground-based data and intercomparison with the XAERDT product suite confirm that SYREMIS provides high retrieval stability and accuracy. Without applying post-retrieval quality filtering, SYREMIS achieves an AOD GCOS fulfillment percentage of up to 70%, an AE RMSE below 0.3, and an SSA “Optimal” requirement fulfillment rate of up to 85% at representative sites. We demonstrate the framework's capability to resolve rapid aerosol dynamics through case studies of biomass-burning events over Thailand and Myanmar, as well as dust pollution over Qatar in 2019. As a three-month proof-of-concept assessment (March–May 2019) , these results highlight the practical capability of the established SYREMIS/GRASP approach to generate high-resolution, physically consistent, and stable aerosol data records from the measurements of multiple satellites.
SN - 0034-4257
SN - 1879-0704
ER -