Seasonal variations in aerosol optical thickness over eastern China determined from VIIRS data and ground measurements

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1868-1880 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Meng ◽  
J. Y. Xin ◽  
C. Y. Cao ◽  
X. Shao ◽  
B. Y. Shan ◽  
...  
2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 10731-10759 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Milinevsky ◽  
V. Danylevsky ◽  
V. Bovchaliuk ◽  
A. Bovchaliuk ◽  
Ph. Goloub ◽  
...  

Abstract. The paper presents an investigation of aerosol seasonal variations in several urban sites in the East European region. Our analysis of seasonal variations of optical and physical aerosol parameters is based on the sun-photometer 2008–2012 data from three urban ground-based AERONET sites in Ukraine (Kyiv, Kyiv-AO, and Lugansk) and one site in Belarus (Minsk), as well as on satellite POLDER instrument data for urban areas in Ukraine. Aerosol amount and optical thickness values exhibit peaks in the spring (April–May) and late summer (August), whereas minimum values are seen in late autumn over the Kyiv and Minsk sites. The results show that aerosol fine mode particles are most frequently detected during the spring and late summer seasons. The seasonal variation similarity in the two regions points to the resemblance in basic aerosol sources which are closely related to properties of aerosol particles. However the aerosol amount and properties change noticeably from year to year and from region to region. The analysis of seasonal aerosol optical thickness variations over the urban sites in the eastern and western parts of Ukraine according to both ground-based and POLDER data exhibits the same traits. In particular, over Kyiv, the values of the Angstrom exponent are lower in April of 2011 than in 2009 and 2010, while aerosol optical thickness values are almost the same, which can be explained by an increase in the amount of coarse mode particles in the atmosphere, such as Saharan dust. Moreover, the coarse mode particles prevailed over suburbs and the center of Kyiv during a third of all available days of observation in 2012. In general, the fine and coarse mode particles' modal radii averaged over 2008–2012 range from 0.1 to 0.2 μm and 2 to 5 μm, respectively, during the period from April to September. The single scattering albedo and refractive index values of these particles correspond to a mix of urban-industrial, biomass burning, and dust aerosols. In addition, strongly absorbing particles were observed in the period from October to March, and the modal radius of fine and coarse mode particles changed from month to month widely.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuepeng Zhao

Nearly 30-year aerosol optical thickness (AOT) climate data record (CDR) derived from the operational satellite observations of National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) is used to study the AOT trends over seventeen megacities in the coast zone (MCCZ). Linear trends are derived from monthly and seasonal mean AOT in the past three decades and used in the analysis. The results indicate the following: (1) AOT around a MCCZ in fast developing countries has relatively high value and a positive trend with a confidence level generally above 95%; (2) AOT around a MCCZ in industrialized countries has relatively low value and a negative trend with a confidence level generally above 95%; (3) AOT values and their trends show distinct seasonal variations in MCCZ, which can be explained somewhat by the seasonal variations of meteorological conditions. AOT trend is an effective index for examining the efficacy of air pollution control policies implemented for these megacities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 290-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing Yan ◽  
Wenzhong Shi ◽  
Zhanqing Li ◽  
Zhengqiang Li ◽  
Nana Luo ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (19) ◽  
pp. 5061-5079 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Lauer ◽  
V. Eyring ◽  
J. Hendricks ◽  
P. Jöckel ◽  
U. Lohmann

Abstract. International shipping contributes significantly to the fuel consumption of all transport related activities. Specific emissions of pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) per kg of fuel emitted are higher than for road transport or aviation. Besides gaseous pollutants, ships also emit various types of particulate matter. The aerosol impacts the Earth's radiation budget directly by scattering and absorbing the solar and thermal radiation and indirectly by changing cloud properties. Here we use ECHAM5/MESSy1-MADE, a global climate model with detailed aerosol and cloud microphysics to study the climate impacts of international shipping. The simulations show that emissions from ships significantly increase the cloud droplet number concentration of low marine water clouds by up to 5% to 30% depending on the ship emission inventory and the geographic region. Whereas the cloud liquid water content remains nearly unchanged in these simulations, effective radii of cloud droplets decrease, leading to cloud optical thickness increase of up to 5–10%. The sensitivity of the results is estimated by using three different emission inventories for present-day conditions. The sensitivity analysis reveals that shipping contributes to 2.3% to 3.6% of the total sulfate burden and 0.4% to 1.4% to the total black carbon burden in the year 2000 on the global mean. In addition to changes in aerosol chemical composition, shipping increases the aerosol number concentration, e.g. up to 25% in the size range of the accumulation mode (typically >0.1 μm) over the Atlantic. The total aerosol optical thickness over the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Northeastern Pacific increases by up to 8–10% depending on the emission inventory. Changes in aerosol optical thickness caused by shipping induced modification of aerosol particle number concentration and chemical composition lead to a change in the shortwave radiation budget at the top of the atmosphere (ToA) under clear-sky condition of about −0.014 W/m² to −0.038 W/m² for a global annual average. The corresponding all-sky direct aerosol forcing ranges between −0.011 W/m² and −0.013 W/m². The indirect aerosol effect of ships on climate is found to be far larger than previously estimated. An indirect radiative effect of −0.19 W/m² to −0.60 W/m² (a change in the atmospheric shortwave radiative flux at ToA) is calculated here, contributing 17% to 39% of the total indirect effect of anthropogenic aerosols. This contribution is high because ship emissions are released in regions with frequent low marine clouds in an otherwise clean environment. In addition, the potential impact of particulate matter on the radiation budget is larger over the dark ocean surface than over polluted regions over land.


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