Abstract. For nearly two decades we have been quantitatively observing the Earth’s aerosol system from space at one or two times of the day by applying the Dark Target family of algorithms to polar-orbiting satellite sensors, particularly MODIS and VIIRS. With the launch of the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) and the Advanced Baseline Imagers (ABIs) into geosynchronous orbits, we have the new ability to expand temporal coverage of the traditional aerosol optical depth (AOD) to resolve the diurnal signature of aerosol loading during daylight hours. Here, we describe how the Dark Target aerosol algorithms are adopted for the wavelengths and resolutions of AHI, and show retrieval results from AHI for a two-month period of May–June 2016. The AHI-retrieved AOD is collocated in time and space with existing AErosol RObotic NETwork stations across Asia and with collocated Terra- and Aqua-MODIS retrievals. The new AHI AOD product matches AERONET, as well as does the standard MODIS product, and the agreement between AHI and MODIS retrieved AOD is excellent, as can be expected by maintaining consistency in algorithm architecture and most algorithm assumptions. Furthermore, we show that the new product approximates the AERONET-observed diurnal signature. Examining the diurnal patterns of the new AHI AOD product we find specific areas over land where the diurnal signal is spatially cohesive. For example, in Bangladesh, the AOD increases by 0.50 from morning to evening, and in northeast China, the AOD decreases by 0.25. However, over the open ocean the observed diurnal cycle is driven by two artifacts, one associated with solar zenith angles greater than 70° that may be caused by a radiative transfer model that does not properly represent spherical Earth, and the other artifact associated with the fringes of the 40° glint angle mask. Future work to make the Dark Target AHI algorithm operational will need to re-examine masking including snow mask, re-evaluate assumed aerosol models for geosynchronous geometry, address the artifacts over the ocean and investigate size parameter retrieval from the over-ocean algorithm.