Long term variation trends of aerosol optical depth in China from MODIS and toms

Author(s):  
Jianping Guo ◽  
Yerong Wu ◽  
Xiaowen Li
2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3281-3289 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Xu ◽  
C. Li ◽  
H. Shi ◽  
Q. He ◽  
L. Pan

Abstract. This study investigated the decadal variation of the direct surface solar radiation (DiSR) and the diffuse surface solar radiation (DfSR) during 1961–2008 in the Shanghai megacity as well as their relationships to Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) under clear-sky conditions. Three successive periods with unique features of long term variation of DiSR were identified for both clear-sky and all-sky conditions: a "dimming" period from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s, a "stabilization"/"slight brightening" period from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s, and a "renewed dimming" period thereafter. During the two dimming periods of DiSR, DfSR brightened significantly under clear-sky conditions, indicating that change in atmospheric transparency resulting from aerosol emission has an important role on decadal variation of surface solar radiation (SSR) over this area. The analysis on the relationship between the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) retrieved AOD and the corresponding hourly measurements of DiSR and DfSR under clear-sky conditions clearly revealed that AOD is significantly correlated and anti-correlated with DfSR and DiSR, respectively, both above 99% confidence in all seasons, indicating the great impact of aerosols on SSR through absorption and/or scattering in the atmosphere. In addition, both AOD and the corresponding DiSR and DfSR measured during the satellite passage over Shanghai show obvious weekly cycles. On weekends, AOD is lower than the weekly average, corresponding to higher DiSR and lower DfSR, while the opposite pattern was true for weekdays. Less AOD on weekends due to the reduction of transportation and industrial activities results in enhancement of atmospheric transparency under cloud free conditions so as to increase DiSR and decrease DfSR simultaneously. Results show that aerosol loading from the anthropogenic emissions is an important modulator for the long term variation of SSR in Shanghai.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 627-652
Author(s):  
J. Xu ◽  
C. Li ◽  
H. Shi ◽  
Q. He ◽  
L. Pan

Abstract. This study investigated the decadal variation of the direct surface solar radiation (DiSR) and the diffuse surface solar radiation (DfSR) during 1961–2008 in the Shanghai megacity as well as their relationships to Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) under clear-sky conditions. Three successive periods with unique features of long term variation of DiSR were identified for both clear-sky and all-sky conditions: a "dimming" period from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s, a "stabilization"/"slight brightening" period from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s, and a "renewed dimming" period thereafter. During the two dimming periods of DiSR, DfSR brightened significantly under clear-sky conditions, indicating that change in atmospheric transparency resulting from aerosol emission has an important role on decadal variation of surface solar radiation (SSR) over this area. The analysis on the relationship between the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) retrieved AOD and the corresponding hourly measurements of DiSR and DfSR under clear-sky conditions clearly revealed that AOD is significantly correlated and anti-correlated with DfSR and DiSR, respectively, both above 99% confidence in all seasons, indicating the great impact of aerosols on SSR through absorption and/or scattering in the atmosphere. In addition, both AOD and the corresponding DiSR and DfSR measured during the satellite passage over Shanghai show obvious weekly cycles. On weekends, AOD is lower than the weekly average, corresponding to higher DiSR and lower DfSR, while the opposite pattern was true for weekdays. Less AOD on weekends due to the reduction of transportation and industrial activities results in enhancement of atmospheric transparency under cloud free conditions so as to increase DiSR and decrease DfSR simultaneously. Results show that aerosol loading from the anthropogenic emissions is an important modulator for the long term variation of SSR in Shanghai.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. García ◽  
O. E. García ◽  
E. Cuevas ◽  
V. E. Cachorro ◽  
A. Barreto ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper presents the reconstruction of a 73-year time series of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 500 nm at the subtropical high-mountain Izaña Atmospheric Observatory (IZO) located in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). For this purpose, we have combined AOD estimates from artificial neural networks (ANNs) from 1941 to 2001 and AOD measurements directly obtained with a Precision Filter Radiometer (PFR) between 2003 and 2013. The analysis is limited to summer months (July–August–September), when the largest aerosol load is observed at IZO (Saharan mineral dust particles). The ANN AOD time series has been comprehensively validated against coincident AOD measurements performed with a solar spectrometer Mark-I (1984–2009) and AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) CIMEL photometers (2004–2009) at IZO, obtaining a rather good agreement on a daily basis: Pearson coefficient, R, of 0.97 between AERONET and ANN AOD, and 0.93 between Mark-I and ANN AOD estimates. In addition, we have analysed the long-term consistency between ANN AOD time series and long-term meteorological records identifying Saharan mineral dust events at IZO (synoptical observations and local wind records). Both analyses provide consistent results, with correlations  >  85 %. Therefore, we can conclude that the reconstructed AOD time series captures well the AOD variations and dust-laden Saharan air mass outbreaks on short-term and long-term timescales and, thus, it is suitable to be used in climate analysis.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 2091-2101 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kazadzis ◽  
A. Bais ◽  
V. Amiridis ◽  
D. Balis ◽  
C. Meleti ◽  
...  

Abstract. Spectral measurements of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the Ångström coefficient were conducted at Thessaloniki, Greece (40.5° N, 22.9° E) between January 1997 and December 2005 with a Brewer MKIII double-monochromator spectroradiometer. The dataset was compared with collocated measurements of a second spectroradiometer (Brewer MKII) and a CIMEL sun-photometer, showing correlations of 0.93 and 0.98, respectively. A seasonal variation of the AOD was observed at Thessaloniki, with AOD values at 340 nm of 0.52 and 0.28 for August and December respectively. Back trajectories of air masses for up to 4 days were used to assess the influence of long-range transport from various regions to the aerosol load over Thessaloniki. It is shown that part of the observed seasonality can be attributed to air masses with high AOD originating from North-Eastern and Eastern directions during summertime. The analysis of the long-term record (9 years) of AOD showed a downward tendency. A similar decreasing tendency was found in the record of the PM$_{10}$ aerosol measurements, which are conducted near the surface at 4 air-quality monitoring stations in the area of the city of Thessaloniki.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 608-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shantikumar S. Ningombam ◽  
E.J.L. Larson ◽  
U.C. Dumka ◽  
Victor Estellés ◽  
M. Campanelli ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Chunlin Jin ◽  
Yong Xue ◽  
Xingxing Jiang ◽  
Rui Bai ◽  
Yuxin Sun ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 921-934
Author(s):  
Nilton E. Rosário ◽  
Thamara Sauini ◽  
Theotonio Pauliquevis ◽  
Henrique M. J. Barbosa ◽  
Marcia A. Yamasoe ◽  
...  

Abstract. Extraterrestrial spectral response calibration of a multi-filter rotating shadow band radiometer (MFRSR) under pristine Amazonian Forest atmosphere conditions was performed using the Langley plot method. The MFRSR is installed in central Amazonia as part of a long-term monitoring site, which was used in the context of the GoAmazon2014/5 experiment. It has been operating continuously since 2011 without regular extraterrestrial calibration, preventing its application to accurate monitoring of aerosol particles. Once calibrated, the MFRSR measurements were applied to retrieve aerosol particle columnar optical properties, specifically aerosol optical depth (AODλ) and Ångström exponent (AE), which were evaluated against retrievals from a collocated Cimel Sun photometer belonging to the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET). Results obtained revealed that pristine Amazonian conditions are able to provide MFRSR extraterrestrial spectral response with relative uncertainty lower than 1.0 % in visible channels. The worst estimate (air mass =1) for absolute uncertainty in AODλ retrieval varied from ≈0.02 to ≈0.03, depending on the assumption regarding uncertainty for MFRSR direct normal irradiance measured at the surface. The obtained root mean square error (RMSE ≈0.025) from the evaluation of MFRSR retrievals against AERONET AODλ was, in general, lower than estimated MFRSR AODλ uncertainty, and close to the uncertainty of AERONET field Sun photometers (≈0.02).


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