Influence of dust storms on the aerosol optical properties over the Indo-Gangetic basin
[1] Dust storms are considered natural hazards, which affect day-to-day life for a short time from a few hours to a few days. They are common in India especially in the western Rajasthan Province, which is covered by the Thar Desert. In this paper, we present the effects of the dust events on the ae...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2004
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.581.8657 http://home.iitk.ac.in/~ramesh/publications_pdf/rps_jgr.pdf |
| Summary: | [1] Dust storms are considered natural hazards, which affect day-to-day life for a short time from a few hours to a few days. They are common in India especially in the western Rajasthan Province, which is covered by the Thar Desert. In this paper, we present the effects of the dust events on the aerosol parameters retrieved over Kanpur (located in heart of the Indo-Gangetic basin) from ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) measurements. The aerosol parameters show strong seasonal variability in this region, with least spectral dependence of aerosol optical depth (AOD) during the premonsoon season, characterized by dust loading. The aerosol optical properties over the Indo-Gangetic basin are controlled by the diurnal and seasonal cycles of urban pollutants, but the dust storms are so significant that the local cycle is completely overshadowed. A rise in AOD by more than 50 % and corresponding decrease in angstrom parameter by 70–90 % have been observed after each dust event. The diurnal variations of AOD during the dust events have been found to be controlled by the onset of the dust storms. The changes in the single scattering albedo (SSA) and real n(l) and imaginary k(l) parts of the refractive index indicate that the 27 May 2002 event influences the optical state to be |
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