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Assessment of aerosol optical and micro-physical features retrieved from direct and diffuse solar irradiance measurements from Skyradiometer at a high altitude station at Merak

Ningombam, Shantikumar S. ; Srivastava, A. K. ; Bagare, S. P. ; Singh, R. B. ; Kanawade, Vijay LU and Dorjey, Namgyal (2015) In Environmental Science and Pollution Research 22(21). p.16610-16619
Abstract
Optical and micro-physical features of aerosol are reported using Skyradiometer (POM-01L, Prede, Japan) observations taken from a high-altitude station Merak, located in north-eastern Ladakh of the western trans-Himalayas region during January 2011 to December 2013. The observed daily mean aerosol optical depth (AOD, at 500 nm) at the site varied from 0.01 to 0.14. However, 75 % of the observed AOD lies below 0.05 during the study period. Seasonal peaks of AOD occurred in spring as 0.06 and minimum in winter as 0.03 which represents the aged background aerosols at the site. Yearly mean AOD at 500 nm is found to be around 0.04 and inter-annual variations of AOD is very small (nearly +/- 0.01). Angstrom exponent (a) varied seasonally from... (More)
Optical and micro-physical features of aerosol are reported using Skyradiometer (POM-01L, Prede, Japan) observations taken from a high-altitude station Merak, located in north-eastern Ladakh of the western trans-Himalayas region during January 2011 to December 2013. The observed daily mean aerosol optical depth (AOD, at 500 nm) at the site varied from 0.01 to 0.14. However, 75 % of the observed AOD lies below 0.05 during the study period. Seasonal peaks of AOD occurred in spring as 0.06 and minimum in winter as 0.03 which represents the aged background aerosols at the site. Yearly mean AOD at 500 nm is found to be around 0.04 and inter-annual variations of AOD is very small (nearly +/- 0.01). Angstrom exponent (a) varied seasonally from 0.73 in spring to 1.5 in autumn. About 30 % of the observed a lies below 0.8 which are the indicative for the presence of coarse-mode aerosols at the site. The station exhibits absorbing aerosol features which prominently occurred during spring and that may be attributed by the transported anthropogenic aerosol from Indo-Gangatic Plain (IGP). Results were well substantiated with the air mass back-trajectory analysis. Furthermore, seasonal mean of single scattering albedo (SSA at 500 nm) varied from of 0.94 to 0.98 and a general increasing trend is noticed from 400 to 870 nm wavelengths. These features are apparently regional characteristics of the site. Aerosol asymmetry factor (AS) decreases gradually from 400 to 870 nm and varied from 0.66 to 0.69 at 500 nm across the seasons. Dominance of desert-dust aerosols, associated by coarse mode, is indicated by tri-modal features of aerosol volume size distribution over the station during the entire seasons. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Trans-Himalayas, Single scattering albedo, Angstrom exponent, Aerosol optical depth
in
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
volume
22
issue
21
pages
16610 - 16619
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • wos:000363964700033
  • scopus:84945460496
  • pmid:26081773
ISSN
1614-7499
DOI
10.1007/s11356-015-4788-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0646d140-511c-44e4-aaf5-230ed007bf3d (old id 8389403)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:07:07
date last changed
2022-01-28 04:32:15
@article{0646d140-511c-44e4-aaf5-230ed007bf3d,
  abstract     = {{Optical and micro-physical features of aerosol are reported using Skyradiometer (POM-01L, Prede, Japan) observations taken from a high-altitude station Merak, located in north-eastern Ladakh of the western trans-Himalayas region during January 2011 to December 2013. The observed daily mean aerosol optical depth (AOD, at 500 nm) at the site varied from 0.01 to 0.14. However, 75 % of the observed AOD lies below 0.05 during the study period. Seasonal peaks of AOD occurred in spring as 0.06 and minimum in winter as 0.03 which represents the aged background aerosols at the site. Yearly mean AOD at 500 nm is found to be around 0.04 and inter-annual variations of AOD is very small (nearly +/- 0.01). Angstrom exponent (a) varied seasonally from 0.73 in spring to 1.5 in autumn. About 30 % of the observed a lies below 0.8 which are the indicative for the presence of coarse-mode aerosols at the site. The station exhibits absorbing aerosol features which prominently occurred during spring and that may be attributed by the transported anthropogenic aerosol from Indo-Gangatic Plain (IGP). Results were well substantiated with the air mass back-trajectory analysis. Furthermore, seasonal mean of single scattering albedo (SSA at 500 nm) varied from of 0.94 to 0.98 and a general increasing trend is noticed from 400 to 870 nm wavelengths. These features are apparently regional characteristics of the site. Aerosol asymmetry factor (AS) decreases gradually from 400 to 870 nm and varied from 0.66 to 0.69 at 500 nm across the seasons. Dominance of desert-dust aerosols, associated by coarse mode, is indicated by tri-modal features of aerosol volume size distribution over the station during the entire seasons.}},
  author       = {{Ningombam, Shantikumar S. and Srivastava, A. K. and Bagare, S. P. and Singh, R. B. and Kanawade, Vijay and Dorjey, Namgyal}},
  issn         = {{1614-7499}},
  keywords     = {{Trans-Himalayas; Single scattering albedo; Angstrom exponent; Aerosol optical depth}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{21}},
  pages        = {{16610--16619}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Environmental Science and Pollution Research}},
  title        = {{Assessment of aerosol optical and micro-physical features retrieved from direct and diffuse solar irradiance measurements from Skyradiometer at a high altitude station at Merak}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4788-9}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s11356-015-4788-9}},
  volume       = {{22}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}