MISR Level 3 Component Global Aerosol Product covering a quarter (seasonal) V004

MIL3QAE_004 is the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Level 3 Component Global Aerosol Product covering a quarter (seasonal) version 4. It contains a statistical summary of column aerosol 555-nanometer optical depth and a monthly aerosol compositional type frequency histogram. This data product is a global summary of the Level 2 aerosol parameters of interest averaged over a quarter (seasonal) and reported on a geographic grid with a resolution of 0.5 degrees by 0.5 degrees. The seasons are winter (December from the previous year, January, February), spring (March, April, May), summer (June, July, August), and fall (September, October, November). Data collection for this product was completed in May of 2017.

The MISR instrument consists of nine push-broom cameras that measure radiance in four spectral bands. Global coverage is achieved in nine days. The cameras are arranged with one camera pointing toward the nadir, four forward, and four aftward. It takes seven minutes for all nine cameras to view the exact surface location. The view angles relative to the surface reference ellipsoid are 0, 26.1, 45.6, 60.0, and 70.5 degrees. The spectral band shapes are nominally Gaussian, centered at 443, 555, 670, and 865 nm.

MISR is designed to view Earth with cameras in 9 different directions. As the instrument flies overhead, each piece of Earth's surface below is successively imaged by all nine cameras in 4 wavelengths (blue, green, red, and near-infrared). The goal of MISR is to improve our understanding of the effects of sunlight on Earth and distinguish different types of clouds, particles, and surfaces. Specifically, MISR monitors the monthly, seasonal, and long-term trends in three areas: 1) amount and type of atmospheric particles (aerosols), including those formed by natural sources and by human activities; 2) amounts, types, and heights of clouds, and 3) distribution of land surface cover, including vegetation canopy structure.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field	Value
Maintainer	Earthdata Forum
Last Updated	September 22, 2026, 17:47 (UTC)
Created	April 1, 2025, 17:25 (UTC)
accessLevel	public
bureauCode	{026:00}
catalog_conformsTo	https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id	59b81230-92af-4c22-9c60-58ba597851fc
harvest_source_id	b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title	Science Discovery Engine
identifier	10.5067/Terra/MISR/MIL3QAE_L3.004
license	https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified	2026-09-14T22:16:00Z
programCode	{026:000}
publisher	NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
resource-type	Dataset
source_datajson_identifier	true
source_hash	84242c74a5ad4c42e144ad505322948f8deff1740893553b95dc590e4515106a
source_schema_version	1.1
spatial	["CARTESIAN", [{"WestBoundingCoordinate": -180, "NorthBoundingCoordinate": 90, "EastBoundingCoordinate": 180, "SouthBoundingCoordinate": -90}]]
temporal	1999-12-18/2026-09-14
theme	{"Earth Science"}