Study of the Ångström turbidity over Romanian Black Sea coast

Abstract

The atmospheric turbidity has an important role in the climate changes studies and solar radiation modelling. A three years AERONET data set (2010–2012) was used to study the variation of the aerosol optical properties and Ångström turbidity at Eforie Nord (Romania), on the Black Sea coast. The study emphasizes a similar seasonal variation for aerosol optical depth (AOD) and turbidity (β), consisting of maximum averaged value in spring and summer and minimum averaged value in winter. The Ångström exponent (AE) reached the maximum average in summer and the minimum in autumn. The results indicate the main contribution of the fine particles to the local load of atmosphere and low turbidity. The dependence of turbidity on the Ångström exponent highlights that turbidity can be computed based on a constant value of AE = 1.3, even in the climatological conditions of the Black Sea coast. Statistical analysis shows a moderate correlation between daily values of turbidity and precipitable water (r = 0.51). The days with the highest turbidity values from the perspective of meteorological parameters and air mass trajectories were analyzed. This study shows that a significant transport of aerosol from the western and southwestern part of Europe influenced the air turbidity.