Dear Authors,

Thank you for your revised manuscript which accounts for the revisions suggested by the two referees.

In response to Referee #1 (Line 402) it is important to mention the uncertainties involved in evaluating aerosol emissions using AOD. This is due to the uncertainties in calculating AOD from simulated aerosol due to uncertainties in aerosol size distribution, optical properties, aerosol water uptake, vertical distribution of aerosol, meteorology etc. See Reddington et al. (2019), comparing 3 emission datasets in one model over the Amazon against both AOD and vertical aerosol profiles (https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/19/9125/2019/acp-19-9125-2019.html). It is possible to correctly simulate the aerosol vertical profile but still underestimate AOD.

It would also be useful to stress that not all the emission datasets include peat combustion. GFED3.1 and GFED4 do, but FINN1.5 does not. Peat combustion is an important emission source in some regions such as Equatorial Asia. For example, see: Kiely et al (2019) (https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/19/11105/2019/acp-19-11105-2019.html). This will contribute to the differences in emissions between emission datasets in some regions.

The revised manuscript is suitable for publication in ACP.