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Aerosols and black carbon variability using OMI and MERRA-2 and their relationship to near-surface air temperature

  • Environmental Sustainability: Challenges and Solutions
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Abstract

An extinction of incoming solar radiation is taking place by absorption and scattering by dust, water droplets, and gaseous molecules. Such phenomena are responsible for altering meteorological variables. In the present study, temporal analysis of the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and black carbon (BC) surface mass concentration was undertaken using an ozone monitoring instrument (OMI) and modern-era retrospective analysis for research and applications, version 2 (MERRA-2) satellite from the year 2018 to 2022. The study was mainly focused on the western states of India which are Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. The correlation of AOT and BC surface mass concentration with near-surface temperature (2m above ground level) was analyzed. BC and temperature shows strong negative correlation as BC is known for its absorption of radiation. It accumulates in the atmosphere and contributes to atmospheric warming while simultaneously bringing down the near-surface air temperature due to the reduced sunlight reaching the ground. Also, seasonal analysis was conducted for winter, summer, monsoon, and post-monsoon, which shows the higher values of AOT in monsoon; however, seasonal average BC surface mass concentration was found high in winter in each year for all three states. AERONET data from Jaipur, Rajasthan, and Pune, Maharashtra for the year 2021 was used to further evaluate the AOT generated from OMI. The results demonstrated a significant connection, with R2 values of 0.62 and 0.69, respectively. The temperature retrieved from MERRA-2 was also validated with ground truth data of the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) at both stations showing high agreement with R2 > 0.70.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the GIOVANNI and AERONET facilitated by NASA for kee** the data in open access. Also, the authors would like to thank CPCB for the smooth dissemination of CAAQMS data. The authors would also like to thank the Clean Environment Research Center (CERC), S. V. National Institute of Technology, Surat for providing support in all possible manner.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, S. V. National Institute of Technology, Surat, 395007, Gujarat, India

    Akshay Chauhan, Namrata Jariwala & Robin Christian

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  1. Akshay Chauhan
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  2. Namrata Jariwala
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  3. Robin Christian
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All authors contributed to framing the research statement and methodology. Data collection and analysis were performed by Akshay Chauhan. The manuscript was drafted by Namrata Jariwala. Corrections and moderation were undertaken by Robin Christian.

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Correspondence to Namrata Jariwala.

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Chauhan, A., Jariwala, N. & Christian, R. Aerosols and black carbon variability using OMI and MERRA-2 and their relationship to near-surface air temperature. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-34026-x

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