Satellite and ground-based remote sensing of aerosol optical, physical, and chemical properties over China (ACP/AMT inter-journal SI) (AMT/ACP inter-journal SI)(AMT/ACP inter-journal SI)
Satellite and ground-based remote sensing of aerosol optical, physical, and chemical properties over China (ACP/AMT inter-journal SI) (AMT/ACP inter-journal SI)(AMT/ACP inter-journal SI)
Editor(s): ACP-co-editors | Coordinators: Stelios Kazadzis and Kostas Tsigaridis | Co-organizers: Zhengqiang Li, Philippe Goloub, and Gerrit de Leeuw Special issue jointly organized between Atmospheric Measurement Techniques and Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
With a wide variety of aerosol optical, physical, and chemical properties, China offers a test bed for the study of aerosol processes and techniques leading to a better understanding of aerosol properties. Aerosol concentrations in the southeast of China are periodically among the highest in the world, while at other times they are relatively low. The prevailing aerosol chemical composition (e.g., sulfate, nitrate, black carbon, brown carbon, particulate organic matter, sea salt) also changes significantly with the quick evolution of both the economy and society, along with the government’s strong environmental actions. The complex mechanisms of the secondary formation of aerosols and haze-fog interaction are still not well understood in this important region. In areas other than the southeast of China, topography determines the aerosol concentrations, which are consistently high. Examples are Sichuan Province or the Guanzhong Basin, i.e. large basins surrounded by high mountains. Furthermore, the large deserts in the west and north of China are strong sources of dust particles influencing the aerosol properties over a large part of the country. There are however also large areas with relatively low aerosol loading, in particular in mountainous areas and over the high plateaus such as Tibet. Aerosol chemical properties in the center and east of China still need to be clarified both geographically and temporally, e.g. distinguish spectrally absorbing components like mineral dust and brown carbon from remote sensing observations. Anthropogenic emissions of aerosols and precursor gases have a large influence on aerosol, in regards to both chemical and physical properties, and consequently optical properties, and their effects can be augmented by the transport of aerosol from elsewhere, such as carbonaceous particles from biomass burning aerosol and dust particles emitted from the deserts. The complex mechanisms and intrinsic relations of aerosol chemistry and physics, and their impacts on optical properties, need better interpretation based on comprehensive observation and analysis. Weather conditions have a large influence on the formation of haze, and haze episodes occur more and more frequently. The influence of large-scale weather systems such as the monsoon or the Siberian high may result in inter-annual variations in different regions of China. In particular the progress of the monsoon from south to north during spring and summer, and back in the autumn, results in strong variations in aerosol content.

In this special issue we focus on the application of remote sensing techniques using both ground-based and satellite measurements to study the temporal and spatial variations in aerosol properties over China on different scales. Results from campaigns in the Taklamakan Desert (Kashi), on the Tibetan Plateau, and other remote areas such as the NE of China are contrasted with those from densely populated and industrialized urban areas in the east of China. The special issue aims to bring together results from different projects such as Kashi, MOST, and regional air quality studies. Contributions are solicited on aerosol optical, physical, and chemical properties inferred from remote sensing observations and related optical techniques, and the spatial and temporal variations in these properties across China, with emphasis on processes leading to the observed differences, including the influence of meteorological conditions and large-scale weather systems.

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18 Oct 2021
A black carbon peak and its sources in the free troposphere of Beijing induced by cyclone lifting and transport from central China
Zhenbin Wang, Bin Zhu, Hanqing Kang, Wen Lu, Shuqi Yan, Delong Zhao, Weihang Zhang, and Jinhui Gao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15555–15567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15555-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15555-2021, 2021
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17 Aug 2021
Multi-dimensional satellite observations of aerosol properties and aerosol types over three major urban clusters in eastern China
Yuqin Liu, Tao Lin, Juan Hong, Yonghong Wang, Lamei Shi, Yiyi Huang, Xian Wu, Hao Zhou, Jiahua Zhang, and Gerrit de Leeuw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12331–12358, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12331-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12331-2021, 2021
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06 Aug 2021
Estimating radiative forcing efficiency of dust aerosol based on direct satellite observations: case studies over the Sahara and Taklimakan Desert
Lin Tian, Lin Chen, Peng Zhang, and Lei Bi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11669–11687, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11669-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11669-2021, 2021
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25 May 2021
Himawari-8-derived diurnal variations in ground-level PM2.5 pollution across China using the fast space-time Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM)
Jing Wei, Zhanqing Li, Rachel T. Pinker, Jun Wang, Lin Sun, Wenhao Xue, Runze Li, and Maureen Cribb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7863–7880, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7863-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7863-2021, 2021
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21 May 2021
Modeled source apportionment of black carbon particles coated with a light-scattering shell
Aki Virkkula
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3707–3719, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3707-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3707-2021, 2021
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20 May 2021
Variability of NO2 concentrations over China and effect on air quality derived from satellite and ground-based observations
Cheng Fan, Zhengqiang Li, Ying Li, Jiantao Dong, Ronald van der A, and Gerrit de Leeuw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7723–7748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7723-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7723-2021, 2021
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12 May 2021
| Highlight paper
A Dark Target research aerosol algorithm for MODIS observations over eastern China: increasing coverage while maintaining accuracy at high aerosol loading
Yingxi R. Shi, Robert C. Levy, Leiku Yang, Lorraine A. Remer, Shana Mattoo, and Oleg Dubovik
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3449–3468, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3449-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3449-2021, 2021
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22 Mar 2021
Improving the sectional Model for Simulating Aerosol Interactions and Chemistry (MOSAIC) aerosols of the Weather Research and Forecasting-Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model with the revised Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation system and multi-wavelength aerosol optical measurements: the dust aerosol observation campaign at Kashi, near the Taklimakan Desert, northwestern China
Wenyuan Chang, Ying Zhang, Zhengqiang Li, Jie Chen, and Kaitao Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4403–4430, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4403-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4403-2021, 2021
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01 Mar 2021
Retrieval of aerosol fine-mode fraction over China from satellite multiangle polarized observations: validation and comparison
Yang Zhang, Zhengqiang Li, Zhihong Liu, Yongqian Wang, Lili Qie, Yisong Xie, Weizhen Hou, and Lu Leng
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1655–1672, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1655-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1655-2021, 2021
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17 Nov 2020
The characterization of Taklamakan dust properties using a multiwavelength Raman polarization lidar in Kashi, China
Qiaoyun Hu, Haofei Wang, Philippe Goloub, Zhengqiang Li, Igor Veselovskii, Thierry Podvin, Kaitao Li, and Mikhail Korenskiy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13817–13834, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13817-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13817-2020, 2020
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04 Nov 2020
Improved inversion of aerosol components in the atmospheric column from remote sensing data
Ying Zhang, Zhengqiang Li, Yu Chen, Gerrit de Leeuw, Chi Zhang, Yisong Xie, and Kaitao Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12795–12811, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12795-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12795-2020, 2020
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18 Sep 2020
Aerosol solar radiative forcing near the Taklimakan Desert based on radiative transfer and regional meteorological simulations during the Dust Aerosol Observation-Kashi campaign
Li Li, Zhengqiang Li, Wenyuan Chang, Yang Ou, Philippe Goloub, Chengzhe Li, Kaitao Li, Qiaoyun Hu, Jianping Wang, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10845–10864, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10845-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10845-2020, 2020
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27 Jul 2020
Determination and climatology of the diurnal cycle of the atmospheric mixing layer height over Beijing 2013–2018: lidar measurements and implications for air pollution
Haofei Wang, Zhengqiang Li, Yang Lv, Ying Zhang, Hua Xu, Jianping Guo, and Philippe Goloub
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8839–8854, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8839-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8839-2020, 2020
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