Spring-time enhancement in aerosol burden over a high-altitude location in western trans-Himalaya: results from long-term observations

Abstract

Long-term measurements (from August 2009 to December 2014) of aerosol black carbon mass concentration (M_BC) and spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) were carried out from a high-altitude location, Hanle in western trans-Himalaya as part of the Regional Aerosol Warming Experiment. Both M_BC and AOD showed distinct annual pattern with a clear spring-time enhancement (April-June) with significant inter-annual variability associated with the changes in source processes. The potential source regions contributing to the spring-time enhancement in aerosol loading are the dust-dominated west Asian region as well as biomass burning from NW India. The overall annual mean value of M_BC over Hanle is extremely low compared to many other Himalayan locations, including the Ganges Valley Aerosol Experiment campaign site at Nainital, which also showed spring-time (pre-monsoon) enhancement. The vertical extents of elevated aerosol layers, which contribute to the spring-time enhancement, are found to be in the range 5-7 km amsl from the analysis of vertical profiles of extinction coefficients from CALIPSO data.