• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.413-421
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• 2016

In this study, correlations between Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) derived Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) values and surface-level $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations at Gosan, Korea have been investigated. For this purpose, data from various instruments, such as satellite, sunphotometer, Optical Particle Counter (OPC), and Micro Pulse Lidar (MPL) on 14-24 October 2009 were used. Direct comparison between sunphotometer measured AOD and surface-level $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations showed a $R^2=0.48$. Since the AERONET L2.0 data has significant number of observations with high AOD values paired to low surface-level $PM_{2.5}$ values, which were believed to be the effect of thin cloud or Asian dust. Correlations between MODIS AOD and $PM_{2.5}$ concentration were increased by screening thin clouds and Asian dust cases by use of aerosol profile data on Micro-Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNet) as $R^2$ > 0.60. Our study clearly demonstrates that satellite derived AOD is a good surrogate for monitoring atmospheric PM concentration.