1College of Global Change and Earth System Science, State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
2Joint Center for Global Change Studies, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
3Department of Atmospheric Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210046, China
4Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China
1College of Global Change and Earth System Science, State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
2Joint Center for Global Change Studies, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
3Department of Atmospheric Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210046, China
4Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China
Received: 05 Nov 2020 – Accepted for review: 11 Nov 2020 – Discussion started: 16 Nov 2020
Abstract. To better understand the aerosol properties over the Arctic, Antarctic, and Tibetan Plateau (TP), the aerosol optical properties were investigated using 13 years CALIPSO L3 data, and the back trajectories for air masses were also simulated using the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. The results show that the aerosol optical depth (AOD) has obvious spatial and seasonal variation characteristics, and the aerosol loading over Eurasia, Ross Sea, and South Asia is relatively large. The annual average AOD in the Arctic, Antarctic, and TP are 0.046, 0.025, and 0.098, respectively. The Arctic and Antarctic regions have larger AOD values in winter and spring, while the TP in spring and summer. There are no significant temporal trends of AOD anomalies in the three study regions. Clean marine and dust-related aerosols are the dominant types over ocean and land respectively in both the Arctic and Antarctic, while dust-related aerosol types have greater occurrence frequency (OF) over the TP. The OF of dust-related and elevated smoke is large for a broad range of heights, indicating that they are likely transported aerosols, while other types of aerosols mainly occurred at heights below 2 km in the Antarctic and Arctic. The maximum OF of dust-related aerosols mainly occurs at 6 km altitude over the TP. The analysis of back trajectories of the air masses shows large differences among different regions and seasons. The Arctic region is more vulnerable to mid-latitude pollutants than the Antarctic region, especially in winter and spring, while the air masses in the TP are mainly from the Iranian Plateau, Tarim Basin, and South Asia.
This study investigates the aerosol properties over the pristine regions including the Arctic, Antarctic, and Tibetan Plateau using 13 years CALIPSO aerosol profile products. It shows distinct differences in spatio-temporal variations of AOD and aerosol types over the three study regions. The Arctic and TP are vulnerable to surrounding pollutants, with clear seasonal variations in the transport paths. The results are helpful to understand aerosol radiative forcing and aerosol-cloud interaction.
This study investigates the aerosol properties over the pristine regions including the Arctic,...