Characterization of aerosol optical depth (AOD) anomalies in September and October 2022 over Skukuza in South Africa

Ranaivombola, Marion; Bègue, Nelson; Vaz Peres, Lucas; Fazel-Rastgar, Farahnaz; Sivakumar, Venkataraman; Krysztofiak, Gisèle; Berthet, Gwenaël; Jegou, Fabrice; Piketh, Stuart; Bencherif, Hassan

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3519-2025

Articles | Volume 25, issue 6

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3519-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3519-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 25, issue 6

Research article

|

25 Mar 2025

Research article |

| 25 Mar 2025

Characterization of aerosol optical depth (AOD) anomalies in September and October 2022 over Skukuza in South Africa

Marion Ranaivombola, Nelson Bègue, Lucas Vaz Peres, Farahnaz Fazel-Rastgar, Venkataraman Sivakumar, Gisèle Krysztofiak, Gwenaël Berthet, Fabrice Jegou, Stuart Piketh, and Hassan Bencherif

Data sets

MYD08 D3 MODIS/Aqua Aerosol Cloud Water Vapor Ozone Daily L3 Global 1Deg CMG S. Platnick et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD08_D3.061

MODIS/Aqua Thermal Anomalies/Fire Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V061 L. Giglio and C. Justice https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD14A1.061

MODIS/Terra Thermal Anomalies/Fire Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V061 L. Giglio and C. Justice https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD14A1.061

CALIPSO Lidar Level 2 Aerosol Profile, V4-51 NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center https://doi.org/10.5067/CALIOP/CALIPSO/CAL_LID_L2_05kmAPro-Standard-V4-51

Daily IASI/Metop-A ULB-LATMOS Carbon Monoxide (CO) L2 Product (Total Column) C. Clerbaux and P.-F. Coheur https://doi.org/10.25326/16

Video supplement

Aerosol Optical Depth at 550 from CAMS Reanalysis (September 18 to 23, 2022) Marion Ranaivombola https://doi.org/10.5446/67052

Aerosol Optical Depth at 550 from CAMS Reanalysis (October 9 to 17, 2022) Marion Ranaivombola https://doi.org/10.5446/67051

Short summary

From September to October 2022, the Biomass Burning Aerosol Campaign (BiBAC) in Kruger National Park revealed a significant aerosol loading linked to biomass burning activity, with southeastward transport over southern Africa and the southwestern Indian Ocean (SWIO) basin. The study revealed a predominance of biomass burning aerosols and two distinct transport mechanisms of aerosol plumes and CO, underscoring the importance of east-coast observations in understanding atmospheric dynamics.