Abstract
Natural and anthropogenic aerosols over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) play a major role in affecting the regional radiation budget. The long-term variability of these aerosols’ physical and optical parameters, including aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Ångström exponent (α), were measured at a location near central KSA using the Solar Village (SV) AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) station during the period December 1999–January 2013. The AERONET measurements show an overall increase in AOD on an annual basis. This upward trend is mainly attributed to a prolonged increase in the monthly/seasonal mean AOD during March–June and during August–September. In contrast, lower AOD values were observed during November–December. This can be attributed to a low frequency of dust outbreaks and higher precipitation rates. An overall, weak declining trend in α was observed, except during the summer. The spring and summer seasons experienced a pronounced increase in the number of coarse particles (~2 µm) during April 2006–January 2013 as compared to December 1999–March 2006, suggesting an increase in natural aerosol loadings. Using the HYSPLIT model, it was found that the March 2009 dust storm contributed to the mixing of long-transported dust with anthropogenic local emissions near the SV. The results suggest that extensive industrial activity contributed to the increase of anthropogenic emissions over KSA during the period April 2006–January 2013.
Highlights
Atmospheric aerosols play an important role in the earth’s climate through the absorption, diffusion, and scattering of solar radiation, in addition to altering cloud properties [1,2]
Atmosphere 2019, 10, 752 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) exhibit strong inter-annual and seasonal variability, which are mainly driven by frequent dust events, industrial emissions, mega-infrastructure, and volatile organic compounds released from ships [3]
Dust storms over KSA are common throughout the year; major dust events occur during the cooler months, from February–April [7,8]
Summary
Atmospheric aerosols play an important role in the earth’s climate through the absorption, diffusion, and scattering of solar radiation, in addition to altering cloud properties [1,2]. Atmosphere 2019, 10, 752 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) exhibit strong inter-annual and seasonal variability, which are mainly driven by frequent dust events, industrial emissions, mega-infrastructure, and volatile organic compounds released from ships [3]. The large increase in anthropogenic aerosols over KSA has a significant impact on the regional climate and on human health [4,5]. The dominance of aerosol particles associated with major dust events at different locations over KSA was observed. Dust storms over KSA are common throughout the year; major dust events occur during the cooler months, from February–April [7,8]. Due to a lack of rainfall, the role of precipitation is limited in affecting aerosol characteristics over KSA; dust transport and local anthropogenic emissions play a major role in influencing aerosol properties. The satellite and ground-based data reveal that the pronounced increase in aerosol loadings is due to the increase in anthropogenic activities over the central and eastern regions of KSA [6,8]
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