Characteristics of Aerosols over the Summer Monsoon Transition Zone

Abstract EN

A survey was conducted in the summer monsoon transition region of China.

By combining data from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSOs) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the effects of East Asian summer monsoon circulation on the spatial distribution of aerosol, as well as the response mechanisms of different aerosols in an abundant and a deficient summer monsoon year, were analyzed.

It was found that, in the summer monsoon transition region, the aerosol optical depth (AOD) in abundant monsoon years was lower than that in deficient years.

Only in the Gobi Desert region of the Loess Plateau, the AOD in abundant monsoon years was significantly larger than that in deficient years.

When the AOD was less than 0.06, the frequency of dust aerosol was higher than that of polluted aerosol in both the abundant and deficient monsoon years.

When the AOD was over 0.06, the frequency of polluted aerosol was higher than that of dust aerosol in both the abundant and deficient monsoon years.

In summer, the AOD was larger and the frequency of polluted aerosol in abundant monsoon years was higher than that in deficient years.