Abstract
The effects of atmospheric aerosols on the terrestrial climate system are more regional than those of greenhouse gases, which are more global. Thus, it is necessary to examine the typical regional effects of how aerosols affect solar radiation in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding. In this study, we used global AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) data and robust radiation observational evidence to investigate the impact of aerosols on total radiation, diffuse radiation, and the diffuse radiation fraction in China from 1961 to 2016. Our results showed that there were different temporal changes in the aerosol optical depth (AOD), total solar radiation, diffuse radiation and diffuse radiation fraction over the past 56 years. Specifically, the 550 nm AOD from 2005 to 2016 decreased significantly, with annual average AOD of 0.51. Meanwhile, the average total solar radiation reduced by 2.48%, while there was a slight increase in average diffuse radiation at a rate of 3.10 MJ·m-2·yr-1. Moreover, the spatial heterogeneities of AOD, total radiation, diffuse radiation, and the diffuse radiation fraction in China were significant. Aerosol particle emissions in the developed eastern and southern regions of China were more severe than those in the western regions, resulting in higher total radiation and diffuse radiation in the western plateau than in the eastern plain. In addition, aerosols were found to have negative effects on total radiation and sunshine hours, and positive effects on diffuse radiation and diffuse radiation fraction. Further, the diffuse radiation fraction was negatively correlated with sunshine hours. However, there was a positive correlation between AOD and sunshine hours. These results could be used to assess the impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystem productivity and carbon budgets.
Highlights
The increasing burden of aerosol particles in the atmosphere poses a serious threat to both human health and the climate [1]
The total radiation during the maize growing season in China reduced by 13%, and the total radiation in the Northeast China, northern China, and eastern China decreased by 11.4%, 17.1%, and 15.6%, respectively [6]
We found that aerosols had negative impacts on the total radiation and sunshine hours, but had significantly positive effects on the diffuse radiation and diffuse radiation fraction during the study period, which is, in general, consistency with previous research results [13, 14, 21, 30, 31, 33]
Summary
The increasing burden of aerosol particles in the atmosphere poses a serious threat to both human health and the climate [1]. An increase in aerosol concentration reduces the total radiation received by the Earth’s surface. With increasing aerosol concentrations in the atmosphere, the solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface continues to decrease. The Indian ocean aerosol observation experiment found that the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface decreased significantly with increasing absorbing aerosol concentrations [4]. The total radiation during the maize growing season in China reduced by 13%, and the total radiation in the Northeast China, northern China, and eastern China decreased by 11.4%, 17.1%, and 15.6%, respectively [6]. Solar radiation caused by aerosols in highly polluted areas, such as the North China Plain, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, east China, and the Sichuan Basin, decreased by 28%-49% [7]
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