Aerosol characteristics at a remote island: Minicoy in southern Arabian Sea

Extensive measurements of aerosol optical and microphysical properties made at a remote island, Minicoy in southern Arabian Sea for the period (February 2006–March 2007) are used to characterize their temporal variability and Black Carbon (BC) mass mixing ratio. Large decrease in aerosol BC (from ～800 ng m^?3 to ～100 ng m^?3) was observed associated with change in airmass characteristics and monsoon rains. The total aerosol mass varied between ～80 and 20 μg m^?3. Though the total mass fell drastically, a slight increase in super micron mass was observed during the June–August period associated with high winds. The mass fraction of Black Carbon aerosols during the prevalence of continental airmass is found to be ～1.2% of the composite aerosols, which is much lower than the values reported earlier for this region.