Publication Abstracts

Li et al. 2014

Li, J., B.E. Carlson, and A.A. Lacis, 2014: Revisiting AVHRR tropospheric aerosol trends using principal component analysis. J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 119, no. 6, 3309-3320, doi:10.1002/2013JD020789.

The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite instruments provide a nearly 25-year continuous record of global aerosol properties over the ocean. It offers valuable insights into the long-term change in global aerosol loading. However, the AVHRR data record is heavily influenced by two volcanic eruptions, El Chichon in March 1982 and Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991. The gradual decay of volcanic aerosols may last years after the eruption, which potentially masks the estimation of aerosol trends in the lower troposphere, especially those of anthropogenic origin. In this study, we show that a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) approach effectively captures the bulk of the spatial and temporal variability of volcanic aerosols into a single mode. The spatial pattern and time series of this mode provides a good match to the global distribution and decay of volcanic aerosols. We further reconstruct the data set by removing the volcanic aerosol component and re-estimate global and regional aerosol trends. Globally, the reconstructed data set reveals an increase of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from 1985 to 1990, and decreasing trend from 1994 to 2006. Regionally, in the 1980's, positive trends are observed over the North Atlantic and North Arabian Sea, while negative tendencies are present off the West Africa coast and North Pacific. During the 1994 to 2006 period, the Gulf of Mexico, North Atlantic close to Europe and North Africa exhibit negative trends, while the coastal regions of East and South Asia, the Sahel region and South America show positive trends.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{li07600p,
  author={Li, J. and Carlson, B. E. and Lacis, A. A.},
  title={Revisiting AVHRR tropospheric aerosol trends using principal component analysis},
  year={2014},
  journal={Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres},
  volume={119},
  number={6},
  pages={3309--3320},
  doi={10.1002/2013JD020789},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - li07600p
AU  - Li, J.
AU  - Carlson, B. E.
AU  - Lacis, A. A.
PY  - 2014
TI  - Revisiting AVHRR tropospheric aerosol trends using principal component analysis
JA  - J. Geophys. Res. Atmos.
JO  - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
VL  - 119
IS  - 6
SP  - 3309
EP  - 3320
DO  - 10.1002/2013JD020789
ER  -

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