Nine-year spatial and temporal evolution of desert dust aerosols over South and East Asia as revealed by CALIOP

Emmanouil Proestakis*, Vassilis Amiridis, Eleni Marinou, Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, Stavros Solomos, Stelios Kazadzis, Julien Chimot, Huizheng Che, Georgia Alexandri, Ioannis Binietoglou, Vasiliki Daskalopoulou, Konstantinos A. Kourtidis, Gerrit De Leeuw, Ronald Johannes Van Der A

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

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Abstract

We present a 3-D climatology of the desert dust distribution over South and East Asia derived using CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) data. To distinguish desert dust from total aerosol load we apply a methodology developed in the framework of EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network). The method involves the use of the particle linear depolarization ratio and updated lidar ratio values suitable for Asian dust, applied to multiyear CALIPSO observations (January 2007-December 2015). The resulting dust product provides information on the horizontal and vertical distribution of dust aerosols over South and East Asia along with the seasonal transition of dust transport pathways. Persistent high D-AOD (dust aerosol optical depth) values at 532 nm, of the order of 0.6, are present over the arid and semi-arid desert regions. Dust aerosol transport (range, height and intensity) is subject to high seasonality, with the highest values observed during spring for northern China (Taklimakan and Gobi deserts) and during summer over the Indian subcontinent (Thar Desert). Additionally, we decompose the CALIPSO AOD (aerosol optical depth) into dust and non-dust aerosol components to reveal the nondust AOD over the highly industrialized and densely populated regions of South and East Asia, where the non-dust aerosols yield AOD values of the order of 0.5. Furthermore, the CALIPSO-based short-term AOD and D-AOD time series and trends between January 2007 and December 2015 are calculated over South and East Asia and over selected subregions. Positive trends are observed over northwest and east China and the Indian subcontinent, whereas over southeast China trends are mostly negative. The calculated AOD trends agree well with the trends derived from Aqua MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), although significant differences are observed over specific regions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1337-1362
Number of pages26
JournalAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics (online)
Volume18
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Feb 2018

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