Abstract
The characteristics of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Angstrom exponent as well as the relationship between the AOD and particulate matter (PM10), were measured and analyzed at the Chengdu station over the Sichuan Basin in China from February 2007 to December 2009. High monthly AODs were observed in March, August and December, while a low value was observed in October. Monthly variations in Angstrom exponent were opposite to the AODs in March and August. The averaged PM10 showed a significantly seasonal variation with a peak in winter. There is a complicated (not linear) positive correlation between total AOD and PM10 near the surface. Three typical cases under the conditions of dust and haze were studied, and the results showed that the AODs on the dust days were largest while minimum AODs occurred on haze days. On the contrast, the Angstrom exponent distributions among three weather conditions were opposite to the AODs. The 3day back-trajectory analysis indicated that the origin of the air masses largely affected the aerosol optical properties over the Sichuan Basin.
Highlights
Atmospheric aerosols affect the earth’s climate (Charlson et al, 1992) in two ways: direct radiative forcing by scattering and absorbing solar radiation and indirect effects on the lifetime of clouds and precipitations
Three typical cases under the conditions of dust and haze were studied, and the results showed that the aerosol optical depth (AOD) on the dust days were largest while minimum AODs occurred on haze days
The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the column aerosol optical properties (i.e., AOD and Ånsgström exponent) by measurements of CE-318 sunphotometer over Chengdu, where the characteristics of aerosols have some degree of representativeness for the urban area of the Sichuan Basin (Li et al, 2003b; Zhang et al, 2008; Lin et al, 2012)
Summary
Atmospheric aerosols affect the earth’s climate (Charlson et al, 1992) in two ways: direct radiative forcing by scattering and absorbing solar radiation and indirect effects on the lifetime of clouds and precipitations. Aerosol optical properties research is indispensable in the aerosol radiative effect study (Aoki and Fujiyoshi, 2003). Luo et al (2000) have retrieved and analysed the spatial distribution and decadal changes of the AOD over China from 1961 to 1990 and found that there were two maximum centres of Sichuan Basin and South Xin Jiang Basin near 100°E latitude. There are few studies about the column aerosol optical properties from ground-based measurements over the Sichuan Basin. The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the column aerosol optical properties (i.e., AOD and Ånsgström exponent) by measurements of CE-318 sunphotometer over Chengdu, where the characteristics of aerosols have some degree of representativeness for the urban area of the Sichuan Basin (Li et al, 2003b; Zhang et al, 2008; Lin et al, 2012). Results of this paper will benefit the validation of satellite retrievals and improvement of aerosol modelling over the Sichuan Basin in the future
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