THE VARIABILITY OF AEROSOL OPTICAL THICKNESS IN MOUNTAINOUS AND FOOTHILL AREAS OF THE NORTH OSSETIA ACCORDING TO SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS

2021 ◽  
pp. 51-63
Author(s):  
Evgeniy S. Kamenetsky ◽  
Anatoliy A. Radionoff ◽  
Vasiliy Yu. Timchenko ◽  
Olga S. Panaetova
Keyword(s):  
Optical Thickness ◽  
Aerosol Optical Thickness ◽  
Measured Temperature ◽  
Satellite Measurements ◽  
The North ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Daily Series ◽  
Complex Landscape ◽  
North Ossetia

Atmospheric aerosol is one of the indicators of air quality that affects the environmental situation. The aerosol optical thickness (AOT) of the atmosphere is studied in the mountainous, foothill, and plain regions of Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (Russian Federation) based on satellite data EOS Terra, Aqua. Several geographical locations at different heights were selected for the analysis. Daily series of AOT, air temperature and precipitation data were obtained on period over 20 years for each point. The results of statistical analysis of long-term values of AOT, temperature and precipitation are shown. There is a statistically significant relationship between the averaged values, and there is also a dependence on the height of the location and the proximity of mountains. Long-term average dependencies provide a basis for predicting the AOT value based on the measured temperature at height of 2 m for territories located in a complex landscape at different altitudes.

scholarly journals Estimating a relationship between aerosol optical thickness and surface wind speed over the ocean

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 11621-11651 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Glantz ◽  
D. E. Nilsson ◽  
W. von Hoyningen-Huene
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Optical Thickness ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Wind Speed ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
Aerosol Optical Thickness ◽  
Marine Aerosols ◽  
Hygroscopic Growth ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract. Retrieved aerosol optical thickness (AOT) based on data obtained by the Sea viewing Wide Field Sensor (SeaWiFS) is combined with surface wind speed, obtained at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWFs), over the North Pacific for September 2001. In this study a cloud screening approach is introduced in an attempt to exclude pixels partly or fully covered by clouds. The relatively broad swath width for which the nadir looking SeaWiFS instrument scanned over the North Pacific means that the AOT can be estimated according to relatively large range of wind speeds for each of the scenes analyzed. The sensitivity in AOT due to sea salt and hygroscopic growth of the marine aerosols has also been investigated. The validation of the results is based on previous parameterization in combination with the environmental quantities wind speed, RH and boundary layer height (BLH), estimated at the ECMWF. In this study a factor of 2 higher mean AOT is obtained for a wind speed up to about 13 m s−1 for September 2001 over remote ocean areas. Furthermore, a factor of 2 higher AOT is more or less supported by the validation of the results. Approximately, 50% of the enhancement seems to be due to hygroscopic growth of the marine aerosols and the remaining part due to increase in the sea salt particle mass concentrations, caused by a wind driven water vapor and sea salt flux, respectively. Reasonable agreement occurs also between satellites retrieved aerosol optical thickness and AOT observed at several AERONET (Aerosol Robotic NETwork) ground-based remote sensing stations. Finally, possible reasons why relatively large standard deviations occur around the mean values of AOT estimated for a single scene are discussed.

scholarly journals Seasonal Climate Trends, the North Atlantic Oscillation, and Salamander Abundance in the Southern Appalachian Mountain Region

2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 1597-1603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Warren ◽  
Mark A. Bradford
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
The North ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Southern Appalachian ◽  
Southern Appalachian Mountain ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
Precipitation Trends

Abstract The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a large-scale climate teleconnection that coincides with worldwide changes in weather. Its impacts have been documented at large scales, particularly in Europe, but not as much at regional scales. Furthermore, despite documented impacts on ecological dynamics in Europe, the NAO’s influence on North American biota has been somewhat overlooked. This paper examines long-term temperature and precipitation trends in the southern Appalachian Mountain region—a region well known for its biotic diversity, particularly in salamander species—and examines the connections between these trends and NAO cycles. To connect the NAO phase shifts with southern Appalachian ecology, trends in stream salamander abundance are also examined as a function of the NAO index. The results reported here indicate no substantial long-term warming or precipitation trends in the southern Appalachians and suggest a strong relationship between cool season (November–April) temperature and precipitation and the NAO. More importantly, trends in stream salamander abundance are best explained by variation in the NAO as salamanders are most plentiful during the warmer, wetter phases.

scholarly journals Trend analysis of the Aerosol Optical Thickness and Ångström Exponent derived from the global AERONET spectral observations

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 5325-5388 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Yoon ◽  
W. von Hoyningen-Huene ◽  
A. A. Kokhanovsky ◽  
M. Vountas ◽  
J. P. Burrows
Keyword(s):  
Trend Analysis ◽  
Optical Thickness ◽  
Weighted Least Squares ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Aerosol Optical Thickness ◽  
Anthropogenic Aerosols ◽  
Angstrom Exponent ◽  
Ångström Exponent ◽  
Ångstrom Exponent

Abstract. Regular aerosol observations based on well-calibrated instruments have led to a better understanding of the aerosol radiative budget on Earth. In recent years, these instruments have played an important role in the determination of the increase of anthropogenic aerosols by means of long-term studies. Only few investigations regarding long-term trends of aerosol optical characteristics (e.g. Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) and Ångström Exponent (ÅE)) have been derived from ground-based observations. This paper aims to derive and discuss linear trends of AOT (440, 675, 870, and 1020 nm) and ÅE (440–870 nm) using AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) spectral observations. Additionally, temporal trends of Coarse- and Fine-mode dominant AOTs (CAOT and FAOT) have been estimated by applying an aerosol classification based on accurate ÅE and Ångström Exponent Difference (ÅED). In order to take into account the fact that cloud disturbance is having a significant influence on the trend analysis of aerosols, we introduce a weighted least squares regression depending on two weights: (1) monthly standard deviation and (2) Number of Observations (NO) per month. Temporal increase of FAOTs prevails over regions dominated by emerging economy or slash-burn agriculture in East Asia and South Africa. On the other hand, insignificant or negative trends for FAOTs are detected over Western Europe and North America. Over desert regions, both increase and decrease of CAOTs are observed depending on meteorological conditions.

Study of long-term trend in aerosol optical thickness observed from operational AVHRR satellite instrument

2008 ◽  
Vol 113 (D7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom X.-P. Zhao ◽  
Istvan Laszlo ◽  
Wei Guo ◽  
Andrew Heidinger ◽  
Changyong Cao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Thickness ◽  
Aerosol Optical Thickness ◽  
Term Trend ◽  
Long Term Trend

scholarly journals Analysis of linear long-term trend of aerosol optical thickness derived from SeaWiFS using BAER over Europe and South China

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 12149-12167 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Yoon ◽  
W. von Hoyningen-Huene ◽  
M. Vountas ◽  
J. P. Burrows
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Optical Thickness ◽  
Correction Method ◽  
Relative Difference ◽  
Aerosol Optical Thickness ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
General Terms

Abstract. The main purposes of the present paper are not only to investigate linear long-term trends of Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) at 443 and 555 nm over regions in Europe and South China, but also to show the uncertainty caused by cloud disturbance in the trend analysis of cloud-free aerosol. These research areas are the densely urbanised and often highly polluted regions. The study uses the Bremen AErosol Retrieval (BAER) and Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) data for AOT retrievals in the specified regions from October 1997 to May 2008. In order to validate the individually retrieved AOTs and the corresponding trends, AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) level 2.0 data have been used. The retrieved AOTs were in good agreement with those of AERONET (0.79 ≤ R ≤ 0.88, 0.08 ≤ RMSD ≤ 0.13). The contamination of the aerosol retrievals and/or AERONET observations by thin clouds can significantly degrade the AOT and lead to statistically non-representative monthly-means, especially during cloudy seasons. Therefore an inter-correction method has been developed and applied. The "corrected" trends for both BAER SeaWiFS and AERONET AOT were similar and showed in average a relative difference of ∼25.19%. In general terms, negative trends (decrease of aerosol loading) were mainly observed over European regions, with magnitudes up to −0.00453 and −0.00484 yr−1 at 443 and 555 nm, respectively. In contrast, the trend in Pearl River Delta was positive, most likely attributed to rapid urbanization and industrialization. The magnitudes of AOT increased by +0.00761 and +0.00625 yr−1 respectively at 443 and 555 nm.

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