Mapping the profiles of atmospheric aerosols over the Himalayan range

Garg, Niharika (2021) Mapping the profiles of atmospheric aerosols over the Himalayan range. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

Text (MS Dissertation of Niharika Garg (Roll No.: 16MS170)) 16MS170_Thesis_file.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (697kB)

Abstract

This study brings out the monthly, yearly, and spatial distribution of aerosols over the Himalayas from 2003-19 utilising data from MEERA-2. There is a strong seasonality in aerosol loadings with higher values during summer as compared to winter. It was also observed that aerosol levels have increased in the winter and autumn seasons. Previous studies have reported more dominance of anthropogenic aerosols during these seasons and hence, such increase is of major concern. This increase is attributed to the dominance of biomass burning emissions and efficient trapping due to shallow boundary layer height. The densely polluted IGP is a major source of aerosols to the eastern region. Hence, the increase in AOT values in eastern region can be attributed to the increase in number of industries in central and eastern states. Further, after calculating ratio of AOT to surface mass concentration, dust is found to be the least efficient while sulphate is the most efficient.

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