Abstract
The vertical distribution, horizontal range, and optical properties of Asian dust were obtained using a ground-based depolarization lidar and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) over a two-year measurement period (2010–2012) in Wuhan (30.5°N, 114.4°E), China. The depolarization lidar registered 13 dust events, most of which occurred in the spring (5 events) and winter (6 events). The dust layers occurred at heights of approximately 1.4–3.5 km. The horizontal ranges of the dust plumes were approximately 750–2400 km, based on the CALIPSO data. The average volume depolarization ratio (δ), particle depolarization ratio (δp), extinction and optical depth (AOD) of the dust layers were 0.12, 0.22, 0.19 km−1, and 0.32, respectively. The dust layers observed in the winter occurred at a lower height and had larger mean extinction and AOD, and smaller meanδandδpthan the spring dust layers. These wintertime features may result from a lower troposphere temperature inversion, the mixing of local aerosols, and hygroscopic growth under suitable relative humidity conditions. A dust event in April 2011 spanned 9 days. Compared with the observations at other sites, the dust layers over Wuhan exhibited more turbid along with suppressed nonspherical particle shape.
Highlights
Water loss and soil erosion induce dust emissions, which affect the large-scale atmospheric environment
The 20 profiles closest to our lidar site obtained from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) data were averaged to compare with the 1 min accumulated polarization lidar data at 02:24 LST on 23 April 2011
Two years of Asian dust transported over long distances were simultaneously observed using a groundbased depolarization lidar and CALIPSO at Wuhan (30.5∘N, 114.4∘E), China
Summary
Water loss and soil erosion induce dust emissions, which affect the large-scale atmospheric environment. There are three vast desert areas on Earth: the Sahara Desert, the East Asian Desert, and the Arabian Peninsula Desert These deserts contribute 40% of the total aerosol loading in the atmosphere [6]. Asian dust affects areas far from the source regions via long-range transport [9, 10]. During this transport, dust particles undergo complex physical and chemical processes and play an important role in the atmospheric radiation budget [4, 11, 12]
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