The surface-wind speed influences on aerosol optical depth (AOD), derived from the
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua daily observations over the central
North Pacific during the period 2003–2016, have been investigated in this study. The cloud coverage is
relatively low over the present investigation area compared to other marine areas, which favors AOD
derived from passive remote sensing from space. In this study, we have combined MODIS AOD with
2 m wind speed (U2m) on a satellite-pixel basis, which has been interpolated from National Centers for
Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis. In addition, daily averaged AOD derived from Aerosol
Robotic Network (AERONET) measurements in the free-troposphere at the Mauna Loa Observatory
(3397 m above sea level), Hawaii, was subtracted from the MODIS column AOD values. The latter
was to reduce the contribution of aerosols above the planetary boundary layer. This study shows
relatively strong power-law relationships between MODIS mean AOD and surface-wind speed for
marine background conditions in summer, fall and winter of the current period. However, previous
established relationships between AOD and surface-wind speed deviate substantially. Even so,
for similar marine conditions the present relationship agrees reasonable well with a power-law
relationship derived for north-east Atlantic conditions. The present MODIS retrievals of AOD in the
marine atmosphere agree reasonably well with ground-based remote sensing of AOD.