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Data

Sunphotometer Aerosol Optical Depth and Ozone - Australian Field Sites 

Ver: 1.0
Status of Data: completed
Update Frequency: irregular
Security Classification: unclassified
Record Last Modified: 2025-12-02
Viewed 796 times
Accessed 48 times
Dataset Created: 2013-03-13
Dataset Published: 2021-11-12
Data can be accessed from the following links:
HTTPPoint-of-truth metadata URLHTTPMicroTops AOD Instrument FilesHTTPMicroTops Ozone Instrument FilesHTTPData is also availalble at JRSRP Field Data PortalHTTPTERN Field DataHTTPmicrotops_aod_shapefile_attributes.txtHTTPmicrotops_ozone_shapefile_attributes.txtHTTPro-crate-metadata.json
How to cite this collection:
Department of the Environment, T. (2021). Sunphotometer Aerosol Optical Depth and Ozone - Australian Field Sites. Version 1.0. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network. Dataset. https://portal.tern.org.au/metadata/0e70f55d-5bcd-4b85-a3c3-4ddf2a8db2f5 
The acquisition of sunphotometer measurements are critical to capture vital data on atmospheric properties during airborne hyperspectral imaging campaigns as well as for measurements coinciding with the overpass of satellite sensors. The atmospheric properties measured are used in atmospheric correction of the remotely sensed image data. This data is primarily for input into atmospheric correction systems. It may also prove of use in validation of aerosol products such as MOD04 and the reflectance change method developed as part of CRC-SI project 4.1 which may be integrated into the Auscover 19 band reflectance product processing. It can also be used to check methods that produce water vapour directly from the data (SODA). The MicroTops instruments referred to here capture solar radiance data in 5 wavelengths which are used to extract information on aerosol optical thickness and water vapour content. These two key parameters of interest are used as inputs for the atmospheric correction of remotely sensed image data. 
Credit
We at TERN acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians throughout Australia, New Zealand and all nations. We honour their profound connections to land, water, biodiversity and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. The following organisations contributed to the data collection: Joint Remote Sensing Research Project, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Curtin University, University of Adelaide and CSIRO.
This work was funded by the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), an Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) project. 
Purpose
Between 2011 and 2015, TERN Landscapes collected field, airborne hyperspectral and airborne LiDAR data coincidently from several locations across Australia (formally known as the AusCover Supersites) to be used for upscaling ground gathered observations, and to help calibrate satellite sensors passing overhead. 
Lineage
Data not provided. 
Method DocumentationData not provided.
Procedure Steps

1. 

Australia
Temporal Coverage
From 2011-01-01 to 2015-08-19 
Spatial Resolution

Data not provided.

Vertical Extent

Data not provided.

Data Quality Assessment Scope
Data not provided. 
Data Quality Report
Data not provided. 
Data Quality Assessment Outcome
Some site specific issues relating to data quality may exist. Please see the site details are available on the JRSRP Field Data Portal or through the .csv Instrument Files provided on the data page. 
ANZSRC - FOR
Climate change impacts and adaptation
GCMD Sciences
ATMOSPHERE
ATMOSPHERE - AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESS
BIOSPHERE - VEGETATION COVER
Horizontal Resolution
< 1 meter
Instruments
SUN PHOTOMETERS
Parameters
air pressure
air temperature
altitude
atmosphere optical thickness due to ambient aerosol
solar zenith angle
Temporal Resolution
irregular
Topic
climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere
environment
User Defined
Microtops Sunphotometer
Author
Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, Queensland Government
Contact Point
Data Enquiries, Earth Observation and Social Sciences (EOSS)
Publisher
Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
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Please advise any work or publications that use this data via the online form at https://www.tern.org.au/research-publications/#reporting 
Please cite this dataset as {Author} ({PublicationYear}). {Title}. {Version, as appropriate}. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network. Dataset. {Identifier}.