Characterization of aerosol loading in urban and suburban locations: Impact on atmospheric extinction

Nnaemeka Dom Onyeuwaoma,Nwachukwu Pius,Mba Tochukwu,Ian Crandell,Nwachukwu Joy,Olushina Olawale Awe,Ajileye Olasumbo,O K Nwofor ,Theo Chidiezie Chineke,Alexander Iheanyichukwu Opara

doi:10.1080/23311843.2018.1480333

Abstract

The study of atmospheric aerosols remains a very strong factor in the understanding of the Earth’s climate and predicting the air quality within any given environment. In view of this, analysis of ...

Highlights

Aerosols in the atmosphere comprising smoke from biomass burning (BB), sea salts and dust particles originating from deserts and bare surfaces are among the atmospheric particles that affect air quality and the Earth’s meteorological cycle
Anuforom (2007) for example applied data from synoptic stations observed in Nigeria to determine that aerosol particle size decreases from north to south during Harmattan, while Nwofor (2010) observed that extinction growth is enhanced by increased relative humidity (RH) in Ilorin
Cumulative aerosol loading The result shows that the central locations of Abuja and Ilorin had carbon monoxide (CO) values of 24.8 × 1018 and 24.35 × 1018 molecules/cm2, respectively, which implies that these locations had the highest volume of cumulative carbonaceous aerosols for the entire study period when compared with the other locations sampled, followed by Port Harcourt (PH) and Maiduguri at 23.48 × 1018 and 23.23 × 1018 molecules/cm2, respectively, 22.1 × 1018 molecules/cm2 for Ikeja and 22.33 × 1018 molecules/cm2 for Sokoto, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Aerosols in the atmosphere comprising smoke from biomass burning (BB), sea salts and dust particles originating from deserts and bare surfaces are among the atmospheric particles that affect air quality and the Earth’s meteorological cycle. Zhou et al (2014) and Qu, Wang, Zhang, Wang and Sheng (2015) further reported that increased atmospheric extinction as a result of RH depends on different particle sizes, while Zhang and Mcmurry (1992), Tang (1996), Mcmurry (2000), Tang (1996) and Zhang, Shen, Li, Zhu and Yu (2017) opined that extinction can increase by more than 100% when RH exceeds 70–80% Despite all these studies, the comprehensive knowledge about aerosols in Nigeria are limited to where NASA AERONET station is located and some academic environments where in-situ measurements are carried out as the need arises. In this work, aerosol optical of the entire country was mapped and its relationship with atmospheric extinction and RH was examined

Methods

Results

Conclusion