Spatial and temporal gradients in the rate of dust deposition and aerosol optical thickness in southwestern Iran

The southwestern Iran is one of the regions that are most prone to dust events.The objective of this study is the analysis of the spatial and temporal distributions of dust deposition rate as a key factor for finding the relative impact of the dust.First,the monthly mean aerosol optical thickness(AOT)from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS)was analyzed and compared with the dust amount variations from ground deposition rate(GDR),and the results were further used to investigate the spatial and temporal distributions of dust events in southwestern Iran for the period between 2014 and 2015.Moving air mass trajectories,using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory(HYSPLIT)model,were proven to be a discriminator of their local and regional origin.The results from GDR analysis produced a correlation coefficient between dust event history and deposition rates at dust magnitudes of>0.93 that is meaningful at the 95%confidence level.Furthermore,the deposition rates varied from 3 g/m2 per month in summer to 10 g/m2 per month in spring and gave insight into the transport direction of the dust.Within the same time series,AOT correspondences with MODIS on Terra in four aerosol thickness layers(clean,thin,thick,and strong thick)were shown in relation to each other.The deepest mixed layers were observed in spring and summer with a thickness of approximately 3500 m above ground level in the study area.Investigations of ground-based observations were correlated with the same variations for each aerosol thickness layer from MODIS images and they can be applied to discriminate layers of aeolian dust from layers of other aerosols.Together,dust distribution plots from AOT participated to enhance mass calculations and estimation deposition rates from the thick and strong thick aerosol thickness layers using the results from GDR.Despite all the advances of AOT,under certain circumstances,ground-based observations are better able to represent aerosol conditions over the study area,which were tested in southwestern Iran,even though the low number of observations is a commonly acknowledged drawback of GDR.

A method to estimate concentrations of surface-level particulate matter using satellite-based aerosol optical thickness

We propose a new method to estimate surface-level particulate matter(PM)concentrations by using satellite-retrieved Aerosol Optical Thickness(AOT).This method considers the distribution and variation of Planetary Boundary Layer(PBL)height and relative humidity(RH)at the regional scale.The method estimates surface-level particulate matter concentrations using the data simulated by an atmospheric boundary layer model RAMS and satellite-retrieved AOT.By incorporation MODIS AOT,PBL height and RH simulated by RAMS,this method is applied to estimate the surface-level PM 2.5 concentrations in North China region.The result is evaluated by using 16 ground-based observations deployed in the research region,and the result shows a good agreement between estimated PM 2.5 concentrations and observations,and the coefficient of determination R2 is 0.61 between the estimated PM 2.5 concentrations and the observations.In addition,surface-level PM 2.5 concentrations are also estimated by using MODIS AOT,ground-based LIDAR observations and RH measurements.A comparison between the two estimated PM 2.5 concentrations shows that the new method proposed in this paper is better than the traditional method.The coefficient of determination R2 is improved from 0.32 to 0.62.

Features of aerosol optical depth and its relation to extreme temperatures in China during 1980–2001

Based on Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer （TOMS） monthly aerosol optical thickness （AOT） measurements in 1980–2001 a study is made of space/time patterns and difference between land and sea of AOT 0.50 μm thick over China,which are put into correlation analysis with synchronous extreme temperature indices （warm/cold day and night）.Results suggest that 1） the long-term mean AOT over China is characterized by typical geography,with pronounced land-sea contrast.And AOT has significant seasonality and its seasonal difference is diminished as a function of latitude.2） On the whole,the AOT displays an appreciably increasing trend,with the distinct increase in the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and SW China,North China,the mid-lower Changjiang （MiLY） valley as well as the South China Sea,but marginal decrease over western/northern Xinjiang and part of South China.3） The AOT over land and sea is marked by conspicuous intra-seasonal and -yearly oscillations,with remarkable periods at one-,two-yr and more （as interannual periods）.4） Land AOT change is well correlated with extremely temperature indexes.Generally,the correlations of AOT to the extreme temperature indices are more significant in Eastern China with 110 ° E as the division.Their high-correlation regions are along the Southern China coastline,the Loess Plateau and the Sichuan Basin,and even higher in North China Plain and the mid-lower Changjiang River reaches.5） Simulations of LMDZ-regional model indicate that aerosol effects may result in cooling all over China,particularly in Eastern China.The contribution of aerosol change may result in more decrease in the maximum temperature than the minimum,with decrease of 0.11/0.08 K for zonal average,respectively.

Annual observation and analysis of aerosol optical properties in Tianjin coastland

Seasonal variation of the Tianjin coastal atmospheric aerosol opticalproperties are important for improving the atmosphere correction precision of marinesatellite and learning the environment of the boundary between the Bohai Sea and theland. In this paper, the aerosol optical data of Tianjin coastal area from April 2010 toMay 2011 were observed by using the CE317 Solar Photometer, and the aerosol opticalproperties were analyzed. The results show that: Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT)spectra are basically in accord with Angstrom relationship; there are three basic typesof AOT daily variations, which are rising type, levelling type, and declining type; inTianjin Coastland, the mean value of AOT is highest in autumn, which is 0.686. Thevalue is lower in spring and summer, and hits the lowest point in winter. Angstromexponent α increases successively from spring, summer, autumn to winter. Due to thedusty, the angstrom exponent α in spring is lowest, the mean of which is 0.854.Compared with Qingdao Coastland, the atmospheric aerosol optical properties presentcharacteristics of regionality.

The Seasonal Variations of Aerosols over East Asia as Jointly Inferred from MODIS and OMI

Data on aerosol optical thickness(AOT) and single scattering albedo(SSA) derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer(MODIS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument(OMI) measurements,respectively,are used jointly to examine the seasonal variations of aerosols over East Asia.The seasonal signals of the total AOT are well defined and nearly similar over the land and over the ocean.These findings indicate a natural cycle of aerosols that originate primarily from natural emissions. In contrast,the small-sized aerosols represented by the fine-mode AOT,which are primarily generated over the land by human activities,do not have evident seasonalscale fluctuations.A persistent maximum of aerosol loadings centered over the Sichuan basin is associated with considerable amounts of fine-mode aerosols throughout the year.Most regions exhibit a general spring maximum. During the summer,however,the aerosol loadings are the most marked over north central China.This occurrence may result from anthropogenic fine particles,such as sulfate and nitrate.Four typical regions were selected to perform a covariation analysis of the monthly gridded AOT and SSA.Over southwestern and southeastern China,if the aerosol loadings are small to moderate they are composed primarily of the highly absorptive aerosols. However,more substantial aerosol loadings probably represent less-absorptive aerosols.The opposite covariation pattern occurring over the coastal-adjacent oceans suggests that the polluted oceanic atmosphere is closely correlated with the windward terrestrial aerosols.North central China is strongly affected by dust aerosols that show moderate absorption.This finding may explain the lower variability in the SSA that accompanies increasing aerosol loadings in this region.

Episode Simulation of Asian Dust Storms with an Air Quality Modeling System

A dust deflation module was developed and coupled with the air quality modeling system RAMS-CMAQ to simultaneously treat all the major tropospheric aerosols（i.e.,organic and black carbons,sulfate,nitrate, ammonia,soil dust,and sea salt）.Then the coupled system was applied to East Asia to simulate Asian dust aerosol generation,transport and dry/wet removal processes during 14-25 March 2002 when two strong dust storms occurred consecutively.To evaluate model performance and to analyze the observed features of dust aerosols over the East Asian region,model results were compared to concentrations of suspended particulate matter of 10μm or less(PM;;1-h intervals) at four remote Japanese stations and daily air pollution index （API） values for PM;at four large Chinese cities.The modeled values were generally in good agreement with observed data,and the model reasonably reproduced two dust storm outbreaks and generally predicted the dust onset and cessation times at each observation site.In addition,hourly averaged values of aerosol optical thickness（AOT） were calculated and compared with observations at four Aerosol Robotic Network （AERONET） stations to assess the model’s capability of estimating dust aerosol column burden.Analysis shows that modeled and observed AOT values were generally comparable and that the contribution of dust aerosols to AOT was significant only with regard to their source regions and their transport paths.

Performance evaluation of operational atmospheric correction algorithms over the East China Seas

To acquire high-quality operational data products for Chinese in-orbit and scheduled ocean color sensors, the performances of two operational atmospheric correction(AC) algorithms(ESA MEGS 7.4.1 and NASA Sea DAS 6.1) were evaluated over the East China Seas(ECS) using MERIS data. The spectral remote sensing reflectance R_(rs)(λ), aerosol optical thickness(AOT), and ?ngstr?m exponent(α) retrieved using the two algorithms were validated using in situ measurements obtained between May 2002 and October 2009. Match-ups of R_(rs), AOT, and α between the in situ and MERIS data were obtained through strict exclusion criteria. Statistical analysis of R_(rs)(λ) showed a mean percentage difference(MPD) of 9%–13% in the 490–560 nm spectral range, and significant overestimation was observed at 413 nm(MPD>72%). The AOTs were overestimated(MPD>32%), and although the ESA algorithm outperformed the NASA algorithm in the blue-green bands, the situation was reversed in the red-near-infrared bands. The value of α was obviously underestimated by the ESA algorithm(MPD=41%) but not by the NASA algorithm(MPD=35%). To clarify why the NASA algorithm performed better in the retrieval of α, scatter plots of the α single scattering albedo(SSA) density were prepared. These α-SSA density scatter plots showed that the applicability of the aerosol models used by the NASA algorithm over the ECS is better than that used by the ESA algorithm, although neither aerosol model is suitable for the ECS region. The results of this study provide a reference to both data users and data agencies regarding the use of operational data products and the investigation into the improvement of current AC schemes over the ECS.

Aerosol properties over an urban site in central East China derived from ground sun-photometer measurements

Sun-photometer measurements at Hefei,an urban site located in central East China,were examined to investigate the variations of aerosol loading and optical properties.It is found that aerosol optical thickness(AOT)keeps higher in winter/spring and gets relatively lower in summer/autumn.The large AOT in winter is caused by anthropogenic sulfate/nitrate aerosols,while in spring dust particles elevate the background aerosol loading and the excessive fine-mode particles eventually lead to severe pollution.There is a dramatic decline of AOT during summer,with monthly averaged AOT reaching the maximum in June and soon the minimum in August.Meanwhile,aerosol size decreases consistently and single scattering albedo(SSA)reaches its minimum in July.During summertime large-sized particles play a key role to change the air from clean to mild-pollution situation,while the presence of massive small-sized particles makes the air being even more polluted.These complicated summer patterns are possibly related to the three key processes that are active in the high temperature/humidity environment concentrating on sulfate/nitrate aerosols,i.e.,gas-to-particle transformation,hygroscopic growth,and wet scavenging.Regardless of season,the increase of SSA with increasing AOT occurs across the visible and near-infrared bands,suggesting the dominant negative/cooling effect with the elevated aerosol loading.The SSA spectra under varying AOT monotonically decrease with wavelength.The relatively large slope arises in summer,reinforcing the dominance of sulfate/nitrate aerosols that induce severe pollution in summer season around this city.

Forecasting of Asian dust storm that occurred on May 10-13, 2011, using an ensemble-based data assimilation system

An ensemble-based assimilation system that used the MASINGAR ink-2 （Model of Aerosol Species IN the Global AtmospheRe Mark 2） dust forecasting model and satellite-derived aerosol optical thickness （AOT） data. processed in the JAXA （Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency） Satellite Monitoring for Environmental Studies （JASMES） system with MODIS （Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer） observations. was used to quantify the impact of assimilation on forecasts of a severe Asian dust storm during May 10-13. 2011. The modeled bidirectional reflectance function and observed vegetation index employed in JASMES enable AOT retrievals in areas of high surface reflectance, making JASMES effective for dust forecasting and early warning by enabling assimilations in dust storm source regions. Forecasts both with and without assimilation were validated using PM^0 observations from China, Korea, and Japan in the TEMM WG1 dataset. Only the forecast with assimilation successfully captured the contrast between the core and tail of the dust storm by increasing the AOT around the core by 70-150% and decreasing it around the tail by 20-30% in the 18-h forecast. The forecast with assimilation improved the agreement with observed PMlo concentrations, but the effect was limited at downwind sites in Korea and Japan because of the lack of observational constraints for a mis-forecasted dust storm due to cloud.