Study of aerosol types and seasonal sources using wavelength dependent Ångström exponent over North-East India: Ground-based measurement and satellite remote sensing

Abstract

The spectral estimates of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD, τ) were made by operating a Microtops-II sun photometer in the spectral range 0.380–0.870 μm over Tripura in north-eastern India and analyzed to infer the aerosol types and source characteristics in different seasons. The Ångström exponent (α) derived from spectral AOD in different wavelength (λ) range and subsequent second order derivative of Ångström exponent (i.e., α′) and their curvature analysis in the ln τ versus ln λ relationship has revealed the crucial information related to the dominance of different aerosol types and their characteristics in different seasons. The average AOD (mean ± standard deviation) at 0.5 μm in winter, pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons are observed to be 0.70 ± 0.28, 0.74 ± 0.18, 0.55 ± 0.20, 0.44 ± 0.19 respectively; while the corresponding seasonal mean values of α (over 0.380–0.870 μm spectral range) are found to be 1.09 ± 0.17, 0.92 ± 0.24, 0.51 ± 0.27, 0.89 ± 0.38 respectively. Examination of the Ångström exponents derived from satellite retrieved AOD by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument operating onboard Terra satellite, along with MODIS fine mode aerosol fraction and aerosol types indicates broad seasonal features of aerosol size spectrum over the study region similar to those observed from ground-based measurements. The estimation of the values of α at different spectral ranges indicate that winter season is mainly influenced by the fine-mode aerosols having fine-mode fraction (FMF) ∼ 0.7; whereas coarse-mode aerosols dominate in the monsoon season having FMF ∼ 0.3. The pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons exhibit the presence of mixed type of aerosols, with slightly greater fraction of fine-mode aerosol in pre-monsoon. Curvature analyses of Ångström exponent put insight into the consistency of observed features of seasonal aerosol types.