The effect of ozone and aerosols on the surface erythemal UV radiation estimated from OMI measurements

Surface erythemal UV radiation is mainly affected by total column ozone, aerosols, clouds, and solar zenith angle. The effect of ozone on the surface UV radiation has been explored many times in the previous studies due to the decrease of ozone layer. In this study, we calculated the effect of aerosols on the surface UV radiation as well as that of ozone using data acquired from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). First, ozone, aerosol optical depth (AOD), and surface erythemal UVB radiation measured from satellite are compared with those from ground measurements. The results showed that the comparison for ozone was good with r ² of 0.92. For aerosol, there was difference between satellite measurements and surface measurements due to the insufficient information on aerosol in the retrieval algorithm. The r ² for surface erythemal UV radiation was high (～0.94) but satellite measurements showed about 30% larger values than surface measurements on average by not considering the effect of absorbing aerosols in the retrieval process from satellite measurements. Radiative amplification factor (RAF) is used to access the effect of ozone and aerosol quantitatively. RAF for ozone was 0.97～1.49 with solar zenith angle. To evaluate the effect of aerosol on the surface UV radiation, only clear-sky pixel data were used and solar zenith angle and total column amount of ozone were fixed. Also, RAF for aerosol was assessed according to the single scattering albedo (SSA) of aerosols. The results showed that RAF for aerosol with smaller SSA (< 0.90) was larger than that for with larger SSA (> 0.90). The RAF for aerosol was 0.09～0.22 for the given conditions which was relatively small compared to that for ozone. However, considering the fact that aerosol optical depth can change largely in time and space while the total column amount of ozone does not change very much, it needs to include the effect of aerosol to predict the variations of surface UV radiation more correctly.     

MANTRA ‐ A Balloon Mission to Study the Odd‐Nitrogen Budget of the Stratosphere

Abstract

The Middle Atmosphere Nitrogen TRend Assessment (MANTRA) series of high‐altitude balloon flights is being undertaken to investigate changes in the concentrations of northern hemisphere mid‐latitude stratospheric ozone, and of nitrogen and chlorine compounds that play a role in ozone chemistry. Four campaigns have been carried out to date, all from Vanscoy, Saskatchewan, Canada (52°01'N, 107°02'W, 511.0 m). The first MANTRA mission took place in August 1998, with the balloon flight on 24 August 1998 being the first Canadian launch of a large high‐altitude balloon in about fifteen years. The balloon carried a payload of instruments to measure atmospheric composition, and made measurements from a float altitude of 32–38 km for one day. Three of these instruments had been flown on the Stratoprobe flights of the Atmospheric Environment Service (now the Meteorological Service of Canada) in the 1970s and early 1980s, providing a link to historical data predating the onset of mid‐latitude ozone loss.

The primary measurements obtained from the balloon‐borne instruments were vertical profiles of ozone, NO₂, HNO₃, HCl, CFC‐11, CFC‐12, N₂O, CH₄, temperature, and aerosol backscatter. Total column measurements of ozone, NO₂, SO₂, and aerosol optical depth were made by three ground‐based spectrometers deployed during the campaign. Regular ozonesonde and radiosonde launches were also conducted during the two weeks prior to the main launch in order to characterize the local atmospheric conditions (winds, pressure, temperature, humidity) in the vicinity of the primary balloon flight. The data have been compared with the Model for Evaluating oZONe Trends (MEZON) chemical transport model, the University of California at Irvine photochemical box model, and the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM) to test our current understanding of model photochemistry and mid‐latitude species correlations. This paper provides an overview of the MANTRA 1998 mission, and serves as an introduction to the accompanying papers in this issue of Atmosphere‐Ocean that describe specific aspects and results of this campaign.     

Compensating for the Effects of Stray Light in Single-Monochromator Brewer Spectrophotometer Ozone Retrieval

Abstract

Spectrometers are designed to isolate particular wavebands and suppress light from wavelengths outside the band of interest. However, a small amount of undesired light will always enter the detector, not through the designed optical path, but through random scattering from the instrument optical components, housing, and dust particles. Every spectrophotometer has stray light coming from outside the nominal measurement waveband. For Dobson spectrophotometers and single monochromator Brewer spectrophotometers, which are basic instruments in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ozone and ultraviolet (UV) monitoring network, the error introduced by stray light is substantial when the ozone slant path becomes very large because of high solar zenith angles and a thick ozone layer. These are common conditions during Arctic spring. To study the issue, a long ozone slant path Intercomparison/Calibration campaign for Nordic Brewers and Dobsons was held at Sodankylä 8–24 March 2011 and a follow-up campaign to extend calibrations to shorter ozone slant paths took place at Izaña observatory, Tenerife, between 28 October and 18 November 2011. These campaigns were part of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Intercalibration of Ground-based Spectrometers and Lidars project funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), intended to permit the homogenization of ozone data from the European ozone ground-truthing network. During the active intercomparison periods, measurements were taken only when good conditions for sun or moon observations existed. Laboratory measurements using calibration lamps and helium-cadmium (HeCd) lasers were an essential part of both campaigns. The campaigns produced a high-quality database of total ozone and UV measurements and an accurate, up-to-date calibration and characterization of participating Brewers and Dobsons against the European standard instruments from the Regional Dobson Calibration Centre-Europe (RDCC-E) and the Regional Brewer Calibration Centre-Europe (RBCC-E). In the present work we focus on single monochromator Brewers and present a physics-based method to compensate for the stray-light effects in ozone retrieval using laboratory characterizations and radiative transfer modelling. The method was tested with independent data from the campaign.     

Influence of natural and anthropogenic activities on UV Index variations – a study over tropical urban region using ground based observations and satellite data

Measurements of total ozone column and solar UV radiation under different atmospheric conditions are needed to define variations of both UV and ozone and to study the impact of ozone depletion at the Earth’s surface. In this study, spectral and broadband measurements of UV-B irradiance were obtained along with total ozone observations and aerosol optical depth measurements in the tropical urban region of Hyderabad, south India. We specifically used an Ultra-Violet Multifilter Rotating Shadow band Radiometer (UVMFR-SR), to measure UV irradiance in time and space. To assess the aerosol and O₃ effects on ground-reaching UV irradiance, we used measurements from a Microtops II sun photometer in addition to the Tropospheric Ultraviolet Visible radiation (TUV) model. We also assessed the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program – Operational Line Scanner (DMSP-OLS) night time satellite data for inferring biomass burning fires during the study period. Results clearly suggested a negative correlation between the DMSP-OLS satellite derived fire count data and UVMFR-SR data suggesting that aerosols from biomass burning are directly attenuating UV irradiance in the study region. Also, correlation analysis between UV index and ozone measurements from sun photometer and TOMS-Ozone Mapping Instrument (OMI) indicated a clear decrease in ground reaching UV-B irradiance during higher ozone conditions. The higher levels are attributed to photochemical production of O₃ during the oxidation of trace gases emitted from biomass burning. Results also suggested a relatively high attenuation in UV irradiance (~6% higher) from smoke particles than dust. We also found a relatively good agreement between the modeled (TUV) and measured UV irradiance spectra for different atmospheric conditions. Our results highlight the factors affecting UV irradiance in a tropical urban environment, south India.     

Characterization of atmospheric aerosols across Canada from a ground‐based sunphotometer network: AEROCAN

Abstract

Ground‐based sunphotometry measurements acquired under clear sky conditions can be used to investigate atmospheric aerosol optical properties. Such measurements are not only important in their own right as a technique for monitoring generic aerosol dynamics, but also represent a direct means of evaluating the contribution of aerosol induced radiative forcing in the modelling of climate change. In this paper we analyze derived aerosol optical properties using datasets from the Canadian AEROCAN (AERosol CANada) sunphotometer network.

The AEROCAN network currently includes eight sunphotometers distributed across Canada at sites chosen in order to obtain a diverse sampling of continental, maritime and arctic aerosols. Some of these sites have been operational since 1993 as part of the Boreal Ecosystem‐Atmosphere Study (BOREAS). These instruments permit standard and automatic multi‐wavelength measurements of solar extinction radiance centred on the solar disk as well as sky radiance scans off the solar disk. These data yields aerosol optical depth, the Ångström exponent, aerosol particle volume size distribution, refractive index, column‐averaged single scattering albedo, and precipitable water vapour content.

Spatial and temporal trends of these parameters as well as observed inter‐correlations are discussed. The results demonstrate the utility and significance of these types of measurements and illustrate the potential applications of networked sunphotometry data.     

中国遥感卫星辐射校正场气溶胶光学特性观测研究

1999年6月28日~7月19日在敦煌场, 7月25日~7月31日在青海湖水面场进行了一次大规模综合野外测量试验, 其中采用3台先进的法国CIMEL太阳辐射计对两个场地大气光学特性进行了系统全面测量, 获得大量晴空天气条件下的大气光学数据。利用Langley法处理气溶胶通道数据得到气溶胶光学厚度及其光谱变化。测量结果显示550 nm波长平均气溶胶光学厚度分别为0.12、0.18, 由气溶胶光学厚度的波长变化得到气溶胶Junge参数分别为2.6、3.0, 并与几种典型气溶胶类型比较。结果表明两地在晴空天气里, 气溶胶含量较小, 符合遥感卫星传感器辐射定标的大气条件。     

El Chichón – influence on aerosol optical depth and direct,diffuse and total solar irradiances at Vancouver,B.C.

Abstract

Solar radiation data for Vancouver, B.C. were used to determine the increase in aerosol optical depth and the changes in the total, direct, diffuse and net short‐wave radiation fluxes associated with the presence of aerosol that originated from the eruption of El Chichón (Mexico) in April 1982. The aerosol optical depth increased by 400% resulting in reductions of 33% in the direct and increases of 80% in the diffuse short‐wave radiation. These maximum changes were experienced some 9 months following the eruption. The relative insensitivity of the total short‐wave radiation (maximum reduction was 6%) suggests that the volcanic cloud was a strong forward scatterer rather than an absorber or back scatterer. Moreover, interannual variability in the surface albedo and a negative feedback associated with the dependence of the surface albedo on the directionality of the incident radiation resulted in no consistent change in the amount of short‐wave radiation absorbed by the Earth's surface.     

Stratospheric aerosol measurements in the Arctic winter of 1996/1997 with the M‐55 Geophysika high‐altitude research aircraft

In‐situ aerosol measurements were performed in the northern hemispheric stratosphere up to altitudes of 21 km between 13 November 1996 and 14 January 1997, inside and outside of the polar vortex during the Airborne Polar Experiment (APE) field campaign. These are measurements of particle size distributions with a laser optical particle counter of the FSSP‐300 type operated during 9 flights on the Russian M‐55 high‐altitude research aircraft Geophysika. For specific flights, the FSSP‐300 measurements are compared with balloon‐borne data (launched from Kiruna, Sweden). It was found that the stratospheric aerosol content reached levels well below the background concentrations measured by the NASA operated ER‐2 in 1988/89 in the northern hemisphere. During the APE campaign, no PSC particle formation was observed at flight altitudes although the temperatures were below the NAT condensation point during one flight. The measured correlations between ozone and aerosol give an indication of the subsidence inside the 1996/97 polar vortex. Despite the lower aerosol content in the winter 1996/97 compared to the 1989 background, the heterogeneous reactivity of the aerosol (as calculated from the measured data with additional model input) is comparable. This is due to the dependency of the reactive uptake coefficients on the atmospheric water vapor content. Under the described assumptions the reaction rates on the background aerosol are significantly smaller than for competing gas phase chlorine activation, as can be expected for stratospheric background conditions especially inside the polar vortex.     

Ground‐based measurements of ozone and NO2 during MANTRA 1998 using a Zenith‐sky spectrometer

Abstract

A portable ground‐based instrument has been constructed for the automated measurement of vertical column abundances of a number of gases pertinent to stratospheric ozone chemistry. The instrumentation is described in this paper and results are presented from the first set of field measurements, made during the Middle Atmosphere Nitrogen TRend Assessment (MANTRA) 1998 field campaign at Vanscoy, Saskatchewan, Canada. Zenith‐sky spectra in the near ultraviolet and visible wavelength regions were recorded for a period of seven days, prior to and following the launch of the MANTRA balloon on 24 August 1998. The spectra were then analysed using the differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) technique in conjunction with a radiative transfer model to determine vertical column amounts of ozone and NO₂. Ozone measurements compared favourably with concurrent observations by ozonesondes, a Brewer spectrophotometer, and satellite instruments. Vertical NO₂ columns were in broad agreement with those determined by the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) satellite instrument.     

20世纪80年代中国地区大气气溶胶光学厚度的平均状况分析

利用中国北京等 41个甲种日射站 1 979～ 1 990年太阳直接辐射日总量和日照时数等资料 ,配合同期 TOMS version - 7臭氧观测资料 ,反演了 41个站逐年、逐月 0 .75μm大气气溶胶的平均光学厚度值 (Aerosol Optical Depth,AOD) ,据此分析了 1 2 a来中国大气气溶胶的变化和时空平均分布特征。结果表明 :中国大气气溶胶光学厚度 AOD的多年平均分布是以四川盆地为中心向四周减少 ,南疆盆地和长江中游武汉附近为另两个大值中心 ;长江中下游大部分地区、山东半岛以及广东沿海等 ,AOD值亦较大 ;而东北大部、西北大部、云南和福建沿海等地 AOD较小。AOD各月平均分布有所不同。中国绝大部分地区春季 AOD值最大 ,最小值则各地不同。 1 979～ 1 990年 ,青藏高原、四川盆地西部、贵州北部、长江中下游大部分地区、山东半岛和南疆盆地西部等 ,AOD呈增长趋势。而东北地区、西北地区大部、云贵高原和广西西部以及华东沿海等地 AOD呈减小势态。中国地区 AOD的季节变化曲线大体可分为单峰、一峰一谷、两峰一谷和多峰等 4种类型     

Impact of aerosols on total columnar ozone measurements—a case study using satellite and ground-based instruments

Long-term record of global distribution of ozone during 1979 to 2001, from Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), over a tropical urban environment has been analyzed and compared with ground measurements. Increase in atmospheric UV-absorbing aerosol loading has been observed after 1991. TOMS columnar ozone during 1979 to 2001 suggested a clear Gaussian pattern of minimum concentration in winter months and maximum in summer months. TOMS ozone showed good correlation with the ground measured columnar ozone during winter months and negative correlation with Sunburning Ultraviolet (SUV) (280–370 nm), UVA and aerosol optical depth (AOD).     

从宽带太阳直接辐射小时或日曝辐量反演气溶胶光学厚度研究

从宽带的太阳直接辐射1天或1小时累计量(曝辐量)气象观测资料反演气溶胶光学厚度的一个有效方法是很有用的.作者把太阳曝辐量与"等效"的瞬时太阳直接辐射关联起来,建立了一个与曝辐量"等效"的瞬时太阳直接辐射的模式;应用该模式和一个"等效"波长模式,发展了一个从太阳直接曝辐量反演气溶胶光学厚度的方法.作者还从试验上比较分析了由某时刻的宽带太阳直接辐射、每小时或1天的太阳直接辐射曝辐量反演得到的气溶胶光学厚度以及由太阳光度计探测的气溶胶光学厚度.试验结果表明,由日太阳直接辐射曝辐量反演得到的气溶胶光学厚度可理解为辐射加权的日平均光学厚度.     

RADIATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF AEROSOLS AT GOLMUD ON THE TIBETAN PLATEAU

The characteristics of atmospheric aerosols in the Golmud desert over the Tibetan (Qinghai-Xizang) Plateau are investigated using the measurements made during the QXPMEX-79.Using spectroscopic observations at the surface and satellite data,the aerosol optical depth is calculated,from which the aerosol size distribution is worked out by means of an inversion method.The effects of vertical distribution of aerosols on irradiance and heating rate profiles are investigated using radiation models in conjunction with the assumption of three idealized aerosol profiles.The effect of aerosols on solar irradiance at the surface is also investigated and the results are compared with the observations.It is shown that the solar irradiance can be reduced by up to 100 W m^-2 in the presence of aerosols,and the heating rate can be increased by 1 Kd^-1.     

Long‐term variations in the turbidity of the arctic atmosphere in Russia

Abstract

Temporal variations of the transmission coefficient and aerosol optical depth of the atmosphere are considered using multi‐year observations at the Soviet polar stations in the Arctic. The contribution of atmospheric aerosol to the total extinction of solar radiation is estimated. A decreasing trend of atmospheric transparency due to the increase of aerosol contributing to the extinction of solar radiation during the last 25–30 years is noted. Estimates of the atmospheric aerosol influence on the incoming solar radiation indicate that a further systematic decrease of the transmission coefficient may lead to climatic changes of direct and total radiation in most polluted areas of the Arctic.     

Spectral dependence on the correction factor of erythemal UV for cloud,aerosol, total ozone,and surface properties: A modeling study

Radiative transfer model simulations were used to investigate the erythemal ultraviolet(EUV) correction factors by separating the UV-A and UV-B spectral ranges. The correction factor was defined as the ratio of EUV caused by changing the amounts and characteristics of the extinction and scattering materials. The EUV correction factors(CFEUV) for UV-A[CFEUV(A)] and UV-B [CFEUV(B)] were affected by changes in the total ozone, optical depths of aerosol and cloud, and the solar zenith angle. The differences between CFEUV(A) and CFEUV(B) were also estimated as a function of solar zenith angle, the optical depths of aerosol and cloud, and total ozone. The differences between CFEUV(A) and CFEUV(B) ranged from-5.0% to 25.0% for aerosols, and from-9.5% to 2.0% for clouds in all simulations for different solar zenith angles and optical depths of aerosol and cloud. The rate of decline of CFEUV per unit optical depth between UV-A and UV-B differed by up to 20% for the same aerosol and cloud conditions. For total ozone, the variation in CFEUV(A) was negligible compared with that in CFEUV(B) because of the effective spectral range of the ozone absorption band. In addition, the sensitivity of the CFEUVs due to changes in surface conditions(i.e., surface albedo and surface altitude) was also estimated by using the model in this study. For changes in surface albedo, the sensitivity of the CFEUVs was 2.9%–4.1% per 0.1 albedo change,depending on the amount of aerosols or clouds. For changes in surface altitude, the sensitivity of CFEUV(B) was twice that of CFEUV(A), because the Rayleigh optical depth increased significantly at shorter wavelengths.     

Brewer 分光光度计遥感大气臭氧垂直廓线的研究

利用建立的球面分层大气散射模式，研究了Ｂｒｅｗｅｒ仪器工作波长进行Ｕｍｋｅｈｒ短法反演所包含的信息量，给出Ｂｒｅｗｅｒ仪器探测大气臭氧垂直廓线的方法。同时，用气溶胶光学厚度计算得到气溶胶订正系数，建立了Ｕｍｋｅｈｒ反演的程序，用此程序对ＴａｂｌｅＭｏｕｎｔａｉｎ资料进行气溶胶修正，得到了较好的结果。对北京测站１９９１年１─３月资料进行由气溶胶造成的臭氧反演廓线的误差计算，结果表明，用常规反演方法得到的各层臭氧含量的误差与平流层气溶胶光学厚度有一近似线性的关系；进行气溶胶修正后，与国外的臭氧反演廓线的误差修正工作￣［１］比较，结果较一致。研究提出的气溶胶订正反演方法为更好地对平流层臭氧变化趋势进行研究提供了可能性和可靠的基础。     

The relationship between turbidity and spectral optical depth

Abstract

Spectral and spectrally integrated direct beam irradiances measured in Hamilton during the summer of 1981 were used to examine the relationship between the aerosol optical depth τ_a and Unsworth and Monteith's turbidity coefficient τ_A, which is a measure of spectrally averaged optical depth. Good correlation was obtained between τ_a at a wavelength of 0.67 μm and τ_A, thus confirming experimentally Blanchet's (1982) conclusion from a numerical study.     

Surface ozone values in anomalous summer 2010 measured in Obninsk

Given and analyzed are the results of the measuring of concentration of ozone O₃, nitrogen oxides NO_x, and carbon monoxide CO at the surface as well as the sum of hydrocarbons and the aerosol optical depth in Obninsk (Kaluga oblast) during the warm period 2010 and 2011. The relationship between the air temperature and the maximum daily ozone values in May–September 2010 are characterized by the higher correlation coefficient than in May–September 2011: 0.82 ± 0.05 versus 0.64 ± 0.07. Increased concentration of surface ozone in Obninsk in July–August 2010 as compared to the similar period in 2011 were caused by the higher concentrations of the compounds-predecessors of ozone. The concentration of O₃ in August 2010 exceeded 200μg/m³ and was never registered in Obninsk during the observation period of 2004–2011. This is associated with the air masses that came to Obninsk from the areas with peat and forest fires that resulted in the dramatic increase in surface concentrations of NO_x, CO, and hydrocarbons.     

单星多角度法同时反演气溶胶光学厚度和地表反射率

尝试以单星多角度卫星观测数据同时反演晴空陆地的气溶胶光学厚度和地表反射率,并选取2009年5月的MODIS(Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)1B资料进行了反演试验.结果表明:单星多角度法反演得到的气溶胶光学厚度结果与MODIS气溶胶产品(MOD04)平均值的相关系数为0.7914;反演的地表反射率结果与MODIS地表反射率产品(MOD09)也具有较好的一致性.对直接利用单星多角度观测数据反演获得一段时间内平均的气溶胶光学厚度进行了有益的尝试.     

Regional aerosol optical depth characteristics from satellite observations: ACE‐1, TARFOX and ACE‐2 results

Analysis of the aerosol properties during 3 recent international field campaigns (ACE‐1, TARFOX and ACE‐2) are described using satellite retrievals from NOAA AVHRR data. Validation of the satellite retrieval procedure is performed with airborne, shipboard, and land‐based sunphotometry during ACE‐2. The intercomparison between satellite and surface optical depths has a correlation coefficient of 0.93 for 630 nm wavelength and 0.92 for 860 nm wavelength. The standard error of estimate is 0.025 for 630 nm wavelength and 0.023 for 860 nm wavelength. Regional aerosol properties are examined in composite analysis of aerosol optical properties from the ACE‐1, TARFOX and ACE‐2 regions. ACE‐1 and ACE‐2 regions have strong modes in the distribution of optical depth around 0.1, but the ACE‐2 tails toward higher values yielding an average of 0.16 consistent with pollution and dust aerosol intrusions. The TARFOX region has a noticeable mode of 0.2, but has significant spread of aerosol optical depth values consistent with the varied continental aerosol constituents off the eastern North American Coast.