Global Scale Estimates of Aerosol Particle Characteristics
Abstract
It has been popular to blame weather patterns and their changes on a wide range of events. Some of these events are ridiculous, such as blaming floods on man's first landing on the moon, while others merit serious attention, such as an El Nino-Southern Oscillation and it's effect upon global weather patterns. One source that has received serious attention in the last two decades is the effect that aerosol particles are having on the global climate. NOAA-7 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data from April 1982 and 1983 were used to perform a global scale analysis of aerosol particle characteristics. Several improvements were incorporated into an AVHRR multichannel satellite data technique developed by Pfeil (1986). This included better cloud and sunglint discrimination, removal of Rayleigh radiance and accounting for ozone absorption. The characteristics analyzed were optical depth and Aerosol Particle Size Index (S12). S12 provides the slope of the aerosol particle size distribution curve. Both of these parameters were evaluated during several naturally occurring events, foremost of which were the 1982 El Chicon eruption and the 1982-1983 El Nino-Southern Oscillation event. The results provided evidence that a significant amount of aerosol particles over marine regions are from land-derived sources. However, the results also provided evidence that some marine aerosol particles may be of biogenic origins. Keywords: Pacific ocean, Remote sensing, Theses.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA204786
Entities
People
- Edmond M. Frost
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School