Airborne measurements of aerosol scattering properties above the MABL over Bay of Bengal during W_ICARB - characteristics and spatial gradients

Sreekanth, V and Moorthy, Krishna K and Satheesh, SK and Babu, Suresh S and Nair, Vijayakumar S and Niranjan, K (2011) Airborne measurements of aerosol scattering properties above the MABL over Bay of Bengal during W_ICARB - characteristics and spatial gradients. In: Annales Geophysicae (1988), 29 (5). pp. 895-908.

PDF Airborne.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (2MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Realizing the importance of aerosol characterization and addressing its spatio-temporal heterogeneities over Bay of Bengal (BoB), campaign mode observations of aerosol parameters were carried out using simultaneous cruise, aircraft and land-based measurements during the Winter Integrated Campaign for Aerosols gases and Radiation Budget (W_ICARB). Under this, airborne measurements of total and hemispheric backscatter coefficients were made over several regions of coastal India and eastern BoB using a three wavelength integrating nephelometer. The measurements include high resolution multi-level (ML) sorties for altitude profiles and bi-level (BL) sorties for spatial gradients within and above the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL) over BoB. The vertical profiles of the scattering coefficients are investigated in light of the information on the vertical structure of the atmospheric stability, which was derived from the collocated GPS (Global Positioning System) aided radiosonde ascents. In general, the altitude profiles revealed that the scattering coefficient remained steady in the convectively well-mixed regions and dropped off above the MABL. This decrease was quite rapid off the Indian mainland, while it was more gradual in the eastern BoB. Investigation on horizontal gradients revealed that the scattering coefficients over northern BoB are 3 to 4 times higher compared to that of central BoB within and above the MABL. A north-south gradient in scattering coefficients is observed over Port Blair in the eastern BoB, with values decreasing from south to north, which is attributed to the similar gradient in the surface wind speed, which can be replicated in the sea salt abundance. The gradients are parameterized using best-fit analytical functions.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Annales Geophysicae (1988)
Publisher:	Copernicus Group
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Copernicus Group.
Keywords:	Atmospheric composition and structure;Aerosols and particles
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Divecha Centre for Climate Change Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
Date Deposited:	22 Jun 2011 09:41
Last Modified:	22 Jun 2011 09:41
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/38438

Actions (login required)

View Item