Absorption characteristics of aerosols over the central Himalayas and its adjacent foothills

Abstract

The absorption characteristics and source processes of aerosols are investigated at two nearby distinct altitude sites: Nainital, located over the central Himalayas (~1958 m amsl) and Pantnagar, in the adjacent foothill region (~231 m amsl) in the Indo-Gangetic Plain region (IGP); based on in-situ measurements and model (GEOS-Chem) simulations. The study reveals the significant influence of biomass burning sources over both the locations during spring, indicating the efficiency of the vertical transport of biomass burning aerosols during the peak of the fire activity period over the northern Indian region. On the other hand, the dominance of fossil fuel emission sources is seen during most part of the year at the mountain site, while biomass/biofuel sources are prevalent at the foothill site. Simulations of different aerosol components in the GEOS-Chem model have revealed that dust aerosols, in addition to carbonaceous aerosols from fossil fuel and biomass burning sources, significantly influence aerosol burden over this broad region covering both high-altitude site Nainital and adjacent foothill site Pantnagar in IGP. Examination of dominant aerosol types and their contribution to the columnar abundance of aerosols is performed. During spring, the contribution of dust aerosols is as high as 22%, even though inorganic aerosols (42%), organic carbon (29%) play a dominant role in modulating aerosol absorption characteristics in the column over this region. This study highlights the importance of absorbing aerosol, their types and quantification for better estimates of radiative forcing of aerosols over this region. This might also provide valuable information for the regional impact assessment of aerosols over the Himalayan region.