We propose a new method to retrieve the optical depth of Martian aerosols (AOD) from OMEGA and CRISM hyperspectral imagery at a reference wavelength of 1 {mu}m. Our method works even if the underlying surface is completely made of minerals, correspon
ding to a low contrast between surface and atmospheric dust, while being observed at a fixed geometry. Minimizing the effect of the surface reflectance properties on the AOD retrieval is the second principal asset of our method. The method is based on the parametrization of the radiative coupling between particles and gas determining, with local altimetry, acquisition geometry, and the meteorological situation, the absorption band depth of gaseous CO2. Because the last three factors can be predicted to some extent, we can define a new parameter {beta} that expresses specifically the strength of the gas-aerosols coupling while directly depending on the AOD. Combining estimations of {beta} and top of the atmosphere radiance values extracted from the observed spectra within the CO2 gas band at 2 {mu}m, we evaluate the AOD and the surface reflectance by radiative transfer inversion. One should note that practically {beta} can be estimated for a large variety of mineral or icy surfaces with the exception of CO2 ice when its 2 {mu}m solid band is not sufficiently saturated. Validation of the proposed method shows that it is reliable if two conditions are fulfilled: (i) the observation conditions provide large incidence or/and emergence angles (ii) the aerosol are vertically well mixed in the atmosphere. Experiments conducted on OMEGA nadir looking observations as well as CRISM EPF acquisitions with incidence angles higher than 65{deg} and 33{deg} respectively produce very satisfactory results. Finally in a companion paper the method is applied to monitoring atmospheric dust spring activity at high southern latitudes on Mars using OMEGA.
