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Aerosol Properties Over Tibetan Plateau From a Decade of AERONET Measurements: Baseline, Types, and Influencing Factors
Author(s) -
Pokharel Manisha,
Guang Jie,
Liu Bin,
Kang Shichang,
Ma Yaoming,
Holben Brent N.,
Xia Xiang'ao,
Xin Jinyuan,
Ram Kirpa,
Rupakheti Dipesh,
Wan Xin,
Wu Guangming,
Bhattarai Hemraj,
Zhao Chuanfeng,
Cong Zhiyuan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1029/2019jd031293
Subject(s) - aeronet , aerosol , environmental science , angstrom exponent , biomass burning , plateau (mathematics) , climatology , atmospheric sciences , plume , latitude , mineral dust , geography , meteorology , geology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , geodesy
Abstract In this study, a decade long measurement of aerosol optical properties at two AERONET stations (Nam Co during 2006–2016 and QOMS during 2009–2017) in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), a region sensitive to climate change and human perturbation, is presented. The baseline value of aerosol optical depth (AOD) was 0.029 and 0.027 at Nam Co and QOMS, respectively, which are comparable to or even lower than those at some Arctic and remote ocean locations. The seasonality of AOD values were the order of spring > summer > winter > autumn. Based on AOD and Ångström exponent ( α ), major aerosol types over the TP were further identified as continental background, biomass burning, and dust. Although continental background aerosol was the main feature in remote areas of TP, biomass burning plumes frequently occurred, especially during spring (March–April). In one of such biomass burning event in April 2014, MODIS observations demonstrated that intensive open fires occurred in South Asia, covering the foothills of Himalayas and Indo‐Gangetic Plain. The air mass back trajectories and CALIOP observations further revealed that biomass burning plume could be uplifted to higher altitudes and reach the Himalayas. Moreover, an occasional dust event detected in April 2008 over the TP demonstrated that the dust from Taklamakan Desert may impact the main body of TP episodically, although the local dust from the inside of TP cannot be excluded and warrants further study.