Srivastava, M. K. and Srivastava , S. K. and Saha, A. and Tiwari, S. and Singh, S. and Dumka, U. C. and Singh, B. P. and Singh, N. P. (2010) Aerosol optical properties over Delhi and Manora Peak during a rare dust event in early April 2005. International Journal of Remote Sensing , 32 (23). pp. 7939-7954. ISSN 0143-1161

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Abstract

Dust storm events are annual phenomena observed over the Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP) during the pre-monsoon period (May–June). These dust storms affect the air quality, weather conditions and radiation budget of the region. In this paper we characterize the aerosol optical parameters associated with a rare dust storm event that hit the IGP during early April 2005. This event was considered rare as it occurred much earlier than the general occurrence of dust storms in India (May–June), and in the year 2005, the warmest year in the span of the previous hundred years. In this study we considered the optical aerosol parameters for two places in the IGP: Delhi (28.5° N, 77.2° E, 325 m asl) and the high altitude station, Manora Peak (29.4° N, 79.5° E, 1958 m asl). Of the two selected stations, Delhi represents a highly populated and polluted location whereas Manora Peak represents a cleaner location in the central Himalayan region. During this dust storm event, the aerosol optical depth (AOD) was observed to increase considerably. The increment was 2.6–4.6 times over Delhi and 1.6–3.2 times over Manora Peak at wavelengths 380 and 1020 nm, respectively, with respect to the background values, whereas the Ångström exponent (α) for both the stations remained close to zero during the event. The effect shows a considerable increase in direct dust radiative forcing in terms of a reduction in the broadband global irradiance for Delhi as well as for Manora Peak stations. The direct aerosol radiative forcing thus obtained was about 34% in the 400–1100 nm wavelength band at Manora Peak.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright for this article belongs to M/s Taylor & Francis Group.
Subjects:	Imaging Science & Photographic Technology Remote Sensing
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User:	Mr. Abhishek Yadav
Date Deposited:	31 Oct 2012 08:58
Last Modified:	31 Oct 2012 08:58
URI:	http://npl.csircentral.net/id/eprint/781

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