Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics www.atmos-chem-phys.net 1680-7316 1680-7324 4 3 2004 10.5194/acp-4-585-2004 http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/4/585/2004/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/4/585/2004/acp-4-585-2004.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/4/585/2004/acp-4-585-2004.pdf 585 587 2004-04-13 Commentary on "Improving the seasonal cycle and interannual variations of biomass burning aerosol sources" by Generoso et al. L. Giglio J. D. Kendall Science Systems and Applications, Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 923, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA In a recent published paper, Generoso et al. (2003) describe a method for improving the spatial and temporal distribution of pyrogenic aerosol emission inventories. In the course of their analysis, the authors note several significant discrepancies in the seasonality of burning as observed by the Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) and four other biomass burning data sets derived from satellite observations. In this commentary we explain the source of these discrepancies and clarify the origin of the VIRS observations that were used by Generoso et al.