Identification of absorbing aerosol types at a site in the northern edge of Indo-Gangetic Plain and a polluted valley in the foothills of the central Himalayas

Rupakheti, Dipesh; Kang, Shichang; Rupakheti, Maheswar; Cong, Zhiyuan; Panday, Arnico K.; Holben, B. N.

doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2019.03.003

Cited by 47 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…The modification of the babs,520 vs. AAE470-950 scatter plot indicates significant changes in the atmospheric chemical composition during the lockdown period in Athens. The correlation between SAE and AAE values has been extensively used for the identification of key aerosol types [63,[130][131][132][133][134] and may reveal changes in atmospheric composition during the lockdown period, able to modulate the aerosol radiative effect [135]. In this respect, Figure 10a-c shows the correlations between SAE450-700 and AAE470-950 for the lockdown period and for the same periods in previous years (2017-2019), aiming to explore possible changes that signify a modification in the dominant aerosol types in Athens.…”

Section: Modifications In Spectral Aerosol Scattering and Absorptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the COVID-19 Lockdown Effects on Spectral Aerosol Scattering and Absorption Properties in Athens, Greece

et al. 2021

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COVID-19 is evolving into one of the worst pandemics in recent history, claiming a death toll of over 1.5 million as of December 2020. In an attempt to limit the expansion of the pandemic in its initial phase, nearly all countries imposed restriction measures, which resulted in an unprecedented reduction of air pollution. This study aims to assess the impact of the lockdown effects due to COVID-19 on in situ measured aerosol properties, namely spectral-scattering (bsca) and absorption (babs) coefficients, black carbon (BC) concentrations, single-scattering albedo (SSA), scattering and absorption Ångström exponents (SAE, AAE) in Athens, Greece. Moreover, a comparison is performed with the regional background site of Finokalia, Crete, for a better assessment of the urban impact on observed differences. The study examines pre-lockdown (1–22 March 2020), lockdown (23 March–3 May 2020) and post-lockdown (4–31 May 2020) periods, while the aerosol properties are also compared with a 3–4 year preceding period (2016/2017–2019). Comparison of meteorological parameters in Athens, between the lockdown period and respective days in previous years, showed only marginal variation, which is not deemed sufficient in order to justify the notable changes in aerosol concentrations and optical properties. The largest reduction during the lockdown period was observed for babs compared to the pre-lockdown (−39%) and to the same period in previous years (−36%). This was intensified during the morning traffic hours (−60%), reflecting the large decrease in vehicular emissions. Furthermore, AAE increased during the lockdown period due to reduced emissions from fossil-fuel combustion, while a smaller (−21%) decrease was observed for bsca along with slight increases (6%) in SAE and SSA values, indicating that scattering aerosol properties were less affected by the decrease in vehicular emissions, as they are more dependent on regional sources and atmospheric processing. Nighttime BC emissions related to residential wood-burning were slightly increased during the lockdown period, with respect to previous-year means. On the contrary, aerosol and pollution changes during the lockdown period at Finokalia were low and highly sensitive to natural sources and processes.

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Section: Modifications In Spectral Aerosol Scattering and Absorptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the COVID-19 Lockdown Effects on Spectral Aerosol Scattering and Absorption Properties in Athens, Greece

et al. 2021

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“…Over south Asia, the aerosol burden is high due to large sources of local dust, long-range transport from the deserts in Asia and Africa, smoke plumes from biomass burning (i.e., crop residue burning, agricultural waste burning, etc. ), and lots of anthropogenic pollution [14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. The large aerosol burden results in haze and intense scattering and absorption of solar radiation, and effects on the Himalayan climate changes, cryosphere, and Indian summer monsoon circulation [21][22][23][24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Aerosol and Cloud on the Solar Energy Potential over the Central Gangetic Himalayan Region

et al. 2021

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We examine the impact of atmospheric aerosols and clouds on the surface solar radiation and solar energy at Nainital, a high-altitude remote location in the central Gangetic Himalayan region (CGHR). For this purpose, we exploited the synergy of remote-sensed data in terms of ground-based AERONET Sun Photometer and satellite observations from the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG), with radiative transfer model (RTM) simulations and 1 day forecasts from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). Clouds and aerosols are one of the most common sources of solar irradiance attenuation and hence causing performance issues in the photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) plant installations. The outputs of RTM results presented with high accuracy under clear, cloudy sky and dust conditions for global horizontal (GHI) and beam horizontal irradiance (BHI). On an annual basis the total aerosol attenuation was found to be up to 105 kWh m−2 for the GHI and 266 kWh m−2 for BHI, respectively, while the cloud effect is much stronger with an attenuation of 245 and 271 kWh m−2 on GHI and BHI. The results of this study will support the Indian solar energy producers and electricity handling entities in order to quantify the energy and financial losses due to cloud and aerosol presence.

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“…Hu et al (2016) reported that high AAOD levels commonly found over East Asia result mainly from aerosol mixtures comprising desert dust, industrial pollutants, and smoke from biomass burning. The study and classification of absorbing aerosols over the globe based on AERONET and satellite observations is well established (Cazorla et al, 2013;Logan et al, 2013;Logothetis et al, 2020;Kedia et al, 2014;Rupakheti et al, 2019Rupakheti et al, , 2019aShen et al, 2019). Dubovik et al (2002) established the relationship technique, which uses relationships between different optical properties of aerosols derived from AERONET and laboratory measurements, for the classification of global aerosols.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classification of aerosols over Saudi Arabia from 2004–2016

Ali

Nichol

Bilal

et al. 2020

Atmospheric Environment

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Knowledge of aerosol size and composition is very important for investigating the radiative forcing impacts of aerosols, distinguishing aerosol sources, and identifying harmful particulate types in air quality monitoring. The ability to identify aerosol type synoptically would greatly contribute to the knowledge of aerosol type distribution at both regional and global scales, especially where there are no data on chemical composition. In this study, aerosol classification techniques were based on aerosol optical properties from remotely-observed data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) over Saudi Arabia for the period 2004−2016 and validated using data from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO). For this purpose, the OMI-based Aerosol Absorption Optical Depth (AAOD) and Ultra-Violet Aerosol Index (UVAI), and AERONET-based AAOD, Ångström Exponent (AE), Absorption Ångström Exponent (AAE), Fine Mode Fraction (FMF), and Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) were obtained. Spatial analysis of the satellite-based OMI-AAOD showed the dominance of absorbing aerosols over the study area, but with high seasonal variability. The study found significant underestimation by OMI AAOD suggesting that the OMAERUV product may need improvement over bright desert surfaces such as the study area. Aerosols were classified into (i) Dust, (ii) Black Carbon (BC), and (iii) Mixed (BC and Dust) based on the relationships technique, between the aerosol absorption properties (AAE, SSA, and UVAI)and size parameters (AE and FMF). Additionally, several of the parameter relationships misclassified the aerosol types over the study area, and only the FMF vs. AAE relationship was found to be robust. As expected, the dust aerosol type was dominant both annually and seasonally due to frequent dust storm events. Also, fine particulates such as BC and Mixed (BC and Dust) were observed, likely due to industrial activities (cement, petrochemical, fertilizer), water desalination plants, and electric energy generation. This is the first study to classify aerosol types over Saudi Arabia using several different aerosol property relationships, as well as over more than one site, and using data over a much longer time period than previous studies. aerosol relationship techniques such as FMF vs. UVAI etc. This enables classification and recognition of specific aerosol types over the Arabian Peninsula and similar desert regions.

show abstract

Identification of absorbing aerosol types at a site in the northern edge of Indo-Gangetic Plain and a polluted valley in the foothills of the central Himalayas

Cited by 47 publications

References 50 publications

Assessment of the COVID-19 Lockdown Effects on Spectral Aerosol Scattering and Absorption Properties in Athens, Greece

Assessment of the COVID-19 Lockdown Effects on Spectral Aerosol Scattering and Absorption Properties in Athens, Greece

Impact of Aerosol and Cloud on the Solar Energy Potential over the Central Gangetic Himalayan Region

Classification of aerosols over Saudi Arabia from 2004–2016

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