Physical and optical characteristics of atmospheric aerosols during ICARB at Manora Peak, Nainital: a sparsely inhabited, high-altitude location in the Himalayas

Dumka, U. C. ; Krishna Moorthy, K. ; Pant, P. ; Hegde, P. ; Ram Sagar, ; Pandey, K. (2008) Physical and optical characteristics of atmospheric aerosols during ICARB at Manora Peak, Nainital: a sparsely inhabited, high-altitude location in the Himalayas Journal of Earth System Science, 117 (S1). pp. 399-405. ISSN 0253-4126

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Official URL: http://www.ias.ac.in/jess/jul2008/j67.pdf

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12040-008-0041-y

Abstract

Collocated measurements of the optical and physical properties of columnar and near-surface aerosols were carried out from Manora Peak, Nainital (a sparsely inhabited, high altitude location, ~2 km above mean sea level, in the Himalayas), during the Integrated Campaign for Aerosols, gases and Radiation Budget (ICARB) under the Geosphere Biosphere Programme of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO-GBP). Under this, observational data of spectral aerosol optical depths (AOD), mass concentration of aerosol black carbon (MB ), mass concentration (MT ) and number concentration (Nt ) of composite (total) aerosols near the surface and meteorological parameters were collected during the period February 15 to April 30, 2006. Though very low (<0.1 at 500 nm) AODs were observed during clear days, as much as a four-fold increase was seen on hazy days. The Ångström exponent (α), deduced from the spectral AODs, revealed high values during clear days, while on hazy days α was low; with an overall mean value of 0.69 ± 0.06 for the campaign period. BC mass concentration varied between 0.36 and 2.87 μg m-3 and contributed in the range 0.7 to 1.8% to the total aerosol mass. Total aerosol number concentration and BC mass concentration showed diurnal variation with a midnight and early morning minimum and a late afternoon maximum; a pattern quite opposite to that seen in low altitude stations. These are attributed to the dynamics of the atmospheric boundary layer.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to Indian Academy of Sciences.
Keywords:Atmospheric Aerosols; Himalayan Aerosols; Size Distribution; BC Aerosols
ID Code:65290
Deposited On:17 Oct 2011 03:44
Last Modified:18 May 2016 13:22

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