Wintertime characteristics of aerosols over middle Indo-Gangetic Plain: Vertical profile, transport and radiative forcing

Kumar, Manish; Raju, M.P.; Singh, Ramesh; Singh, Abhay Kumar; Singh, Ram Sharan; Banerjee, Tirthankar

doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2016.09.012

Cited by 78 publications

(32 citation statements)

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“…1). The predominating wind profile is northwesterly, which is projected to subsidize over a section of the middle IGP, coinciding well with the ground monitoring station, thereby facilitating gradual accumulation of aerosols (Kumar et al, 2018). Interestingly enough, the region also experiences a significant diurnal variation in atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) associated with high convective turbulence that usually redistributes aerosols to a greater height (M. Kumar et al, , 2017aR.…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…This necessitates extensive regional investigation in terms of aerosol composition and properties for improved parametrization of aerosol schemes in the regional and global climate model. The Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP) in South Asia is especially unique in terms of aerosol loading and diversity that varies over the seasons (Singh et al, 2017a, b;Sen et al, 2017;Sayer et al, 2014;Kumar et al, 2018). The IGP is often projected to be one of the most vulnerable region in terms of aerosol-induced negative health impacts (Apte et al, 2015) and therefore numerous observational and modeling studies were performed for better characterization of aerosols (Sen et al, 2017;Moorthy et al, 2008, and references therein).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Aerosol chemistry, transport, and climatic implications during extreme biomass burning emissions over the Indo-Gangetic Plain

et al. 2018

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Abstract. The large-scale emissions of airborne particulates from burning of agricultural residues particularly over the upper Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) have often been associated with frequent formation of haze, adverse health impacts, and modification in aerosol climatology and thereby aerosol impact on regional climate. In this study, short-term variations in aerosol climatology during extreme biomass burning emissions over the IGP were investigated. Size-segregated particulate concentration was initially measured and submicron particles (PM1.1) were found to dominate particulate mass within the fine mode (PM2.1). Particulate-bound water-soluble ions were mainly secondary in nature and primarily composed of sulfate and nitrate. There was evidence of gaseous NH3 dominating neutralization of acidic aerosol species (SO42-) in submicron particles, in contrast to crustal-dominating neutralization in coarser particulates. Diurnal variation in black carbon (BC) mass ratio was primarily influenced by regional meteorology, while gradual increase in BC concentration was consistent with the increase in Delta-C, referring to biomass burning emissions. The influence of biomass burning emissions was established using specific organic (levoglucosan), inorganic (K+ and NH4+), and satellite-based (UV aerosol index, UVAI) tracers. Levoglucosan was the most abundant species within submicron particles (649±177 ng m−3), with a very high ratio (> 50) to other anhydrosugars, indicating exclusive emissions from burning of agriculture residues. Spatiotemporal distribution of aerosol and a few trace gases (CO and NO2) was evaluated using both spaceborne active and passive sensors. A significant increase in columnar aerosol loading (aerosol optical depth, AOD: 0.98) was evident, with the presence of absorbing aerosols (UVAI > 1.5) having low aerosol layer height (∼ 1.5 km). A strong intraseasonality in the aerosol cross-sectional altitudinal profile was even noted from CALIPSO, referring to the dominance of smoke and polluted continental aerosols across the IGP. A possible transport mechanism of biomass smoke was established using cluster analysis and concentration-weighted air mass back trajectories. Short-wave aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) was further simulated considering intraseasonality in aerosol properties, which resulted in a considerable increase in atmospheric ARF (135 W m−2) and heating rate (4.3 K day−1) during extreme biomass burning emissions compared to the non-dominating period (56 W m−2, 1.8 K day−1). Our analysis will be useful to improve understanding of short-term variation in aerosol chemistry over the IGP and to reduce uncertainties in regional aerosol–climate models.

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confidence: 69%

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Aerosol chemistry, transport, and climatic implications during extreme biomass burning emissions over the Indo-Gangetic Plain

et al. 2018

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“…Delhi's air pollution has many critical sources; some are local, and some are regional (Chowdhury et al, 2007;Guttikunda and Goel, 2013;Health Effects Institute, 2018). Coordinated regional and local control of nearly all contributors will be required to bring about the order-of-magnitude concentration reductions that will ultimately make the air safe to breathe (Kumar et al, 2013Bhanarkar et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Submicron aerosol composition in the world's most polluted megacity: the Delhi Aerosol Supersite study

et al. 2019

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Abstract. Delhi, India, routinely experiences some of the world's highest urban particulate matter concentrations. We established the Delhi Aerosol Supersite study to provide long-term characterization of the ambient submicron aerosol composition in Delhi. Here we report on 1.25 years of highly time-resolved speciated submicron particulate matter (PM1) data, including black carbon (BC) and nonrefractory PM1 (NR-PM1), which we combine to develop a composition-based estimate of PM1 (“C-PM1” = BC + NR-PM1) concentrations. We observed marked seasonal and diurnal variability in the concentration and composition of PM1 owing to the interactions of sources and atmospheric processes. Winter was the most polluted period of the year, with average C-PM1 mass concentrations of ∼210 µg m−3. The monsoon was hot and rainy, consequently making it the least polluted (C-PM1 ∼50 µg m−3) period. Organics constituted more than half of the C-PM1 for all seasons and times of day. While ammonium, chloride, and nitrate each were ∼10 % of the C-PM1 for the cooler months, BC and sulfate contributed ∼5 % each. For the warmer periods, the fractional contribution of BC and sulfate to C-PM1 increased, and the chloride contribution decreased to less than 2 %. The seasonal and diurnal variation in absolute mass loadings were generally consistent with changes in ventilation coefficients, with higher concentrations for periods with unfavorable meteorology – low planetary boundary layer height and low wind speeds. However, the variation in C-PM1 composition was influenced by temporally varying sources, photochemistry, and gas–particle partitioning. During cool periods when wind was from the northwest, episodic hourly averaged chloride concentrations reached 50–100 µg m−3, ranking among the highest chloride concentrations reported anywhere in the world. We estimated the contribution of primary emissions and secondary processes to Delhi's submicron aerosol. Secondary species contributed almost 50 %–70 % of Delhi's C-PM1 mass for the winter and spring months and up to 60 %–80 % for the warmer summer and monsoon months. For the cooler months that had the highest C-PM1 concentrations, the nighttime sources were skewed towards primary sources, while the daytime C-PM1 was dominated by secondary species. Overall, these findings point to the important effects of both primary emissions and more regional atmospheric chemistry on influencing the extreme particle concentrations that impact the Delhi megacity region. Future air quality strategies considering Delhi's situation in both a regional and local context will be more effective than policies targeting only local, primary air pollutants.

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“…Concentration-weighted trajectories (CWTs) were also drawn considering columnar aerosol loading to evaluate potential aerosol source fields and mechanisms of aerosol transport. The specificities of the models' parameters and algorithms are detailed elsewhere Kumar et al, 2018).…”

Section: Air Mass Back Trajectorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP) in South Asia is especially unique in terms of aerosol loading and diversity that varies over the seasons (Singh et al, 2017a, b;Sen et al, 2017;Sayer et al, 2014;Kumar et al, 2018). The IGP is often projected to be one of the most vulnerable region in terms of aerosol-induced negative health impacts (Apte et al, 2015) and therefore numerous observational and modeling studies were performed for better characterization of aerosols (Sen et al, 2017;Moorthy et al, 2008, and references therein).…”

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confidence: 99%

Aerosol chemistry, transport and climatic implications during extreme biomass burning emissions over Indo-Gangetic Plain

Singh¹,

Banerjee²,

Raju³

et al. 2018

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Wintertime characteristics of aerosols over middle Indo-Gangetic Plain: Vertical profile, transport and radiative forcing

Cited by 78 publications

References 44 publications

Aerosol chemistry, transport, and climatic implications during extreme biomass burning emissions over the Indo-Gangetic Plain

Aerosol chemistry, transport, and climatic implications during extreme biomass burning emissions over the Indo-Gangetic Plain

Submicron aerosol composition in the world's most polluted megacity: the Delhi Aerosol Supersite study

Aerosol chemistry, transport and climatic implications during extreme biomass burning emissions over Indo-Gangetic Plain

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