The Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) of automatic Sun/sky radiometers collected data on U.S. Atlantic coast sites, ships, and Bermuda in 1996 during the Tropospheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment (TARFOX). Spatial and temporal analysis of Sun photometry data was supported by synoptic analysis of air mass evolution. The spatial distribution of aerosol optical depth is presented. In several cases the aerosol size distributions deduced from sky almucantar measurements and solar disk attenuation measurements at the various coastal sites yielded similar results within the same air masses. Ship-based measurements in the Atlantic Ocean showed significant maritime aerosol optical property variations which for the most part could be attributed to the influence of continental sources and Saharan dust events. The Bermuda data (optical depths and ¿ngstr¿m parameter values) illustrated changes in atmospheric optical properties for various air masses and trajectories. Almost no correlation was observed between aerosol optical depth and water vapor content when the data from all stations and ship measurements were considered together. In the case of individual stations or ship transects, different degrees of correlation could be observed. In continental conditions on the east coast, optical depth and water vapor are well correlated, while in a maritime environment, optical depth can be relatively small despite high water vapor contents. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union