Spatial-Temporal Distribution of Absorptive Aerosols in the Yangtze River Delta

Abstract

Based on the ozone monitoring instrument (OMI)/Aura L2 OMAERUV data from 2008 to 2017, the spatial-temporal distribution of absorptive aerosols during the past 10 years were studied. The results are as follows. ① In the temporal distribution, the inter-annual variation of absorptive aerosol optical depth (AAOD) first increased and then decreased, reaching the highest value of 0.056 in 2011; this is consistent with the aerosol optical depth (AOD) of 0.702 in the Yangtze River Delta. The inter-monthly variation shows that the high value of AAOD appeared mostly in January, March, and June and increased significantly from November to January. ② In the spatial distribution, the AAOD was higher in the north than in the south in the Yangtze River Delta, and the AOD was similar to the AAOD. High values of AAOD above 0.05 were concentrated mainly in northern Anhui and Jiangsu provinces and in Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Jinhua. The seasonal spatial distribution of AAOD and AOD was higher in spring and winter and lower in autumn, although the AOD was very high and the AAOD was low in summer. The contribution of black carbon in the Yangtze River Delta was consistent with the annual spatial distribution of the AAOD and AOD.