Open AccessContribution of different aerosol species to the global aerosol extinction optical thickness: Estimates from model results
Author(s) -
Tegen Ina,
Hollrig Peter,
Chin Mian,
Fung Inez,
Jacob Daniel,
Penner Joyce
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/97jd01864
Subject(s) - aerosol , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , sun photometer , satellite , extinction (optical mineralogy) , sea salt , sulfate , optical depth , sulfate aerosol , remote sensing , meteorology , mineralogy , materials science , geology , physics , astronomy , metallurgy
We combine global distributions of aerosol loading resulting from transport models for soil dust, sulfate, sea salt, and carbonaceous aerosol. From the aerosol distributions we estimate optical thicknesses and compare them with Sun photometer measurements and satellite retrievals, thereby revealing problems with both model results and comparisons with such measurements. Globally, sulfate, dust, and carbonaceous particles appear to contribute equally to the total aerosol optical thickness. Owing to the different optical properties of different aerosol types, aerosol composition should be taken into consideration for estimating the aerosol climate effect as well as for aerosol retrievals from satellite measurements.