Chapter 15 - Ozone and aerosols over the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a vast elevated and clean region in Asia. However, with increasing emissions and air pollution in surrounding areas, the atmosphere over the TP is getting affected. In this chapter, ozone and aerosols over the TP are studied with the aim to understand (1) the regional and seasonal variations in surface ozone and black carbon aerosols, (2) the formation of a regional ozone low during summer, (3) deep convection as a vertical transport mechanism over the TP, and (4) the chemical characteristics of the TP tropopause aerosol layer (TP-TAL). The results discussed in the chapter show that air pollution in South Asia is largely impacting the atmospheric environment of the TP. The Asian monsoon system plays an important role in the transport of pollution and regulating the spatial–temporal distributions of ozone and aerosols over the TP.