Figure 2.11. Aerosol optical depth, τ_aer, at 0.55 μm (colour bar) as determined by the MODIS instrument for the January to March 2001 mean (top panel) and for the August to October 2001 mean (bottom panel). The top panel also shows the location of AERONET sites (white squares) that have been operated (not necessary continuously) since 1996. The bottom panel also shows the location of different aerosol lidar networks (red: EARLINET, orange: ADNET, black: MPLNET).