Analysis of spatio-temporal variability of aerosol optical depth with empirical orthogonal functions in the Changjiang River Delta, China

doi:10.1007/s11707-014-0444-9

Front. Earth Sci.

2015, Vol. 9

Issue (1) : 1-12 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-014-0444-9

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Analysis of spatio-temporal variability of aerosol optical depth with empirical orthogonal functions in the Changjiang River Delta, China

Tianyong ZHAI^1,²,Qing ZHAO^1,^2,^*(

),Wei GAO^1,^2,³,Runhe SHI^1,²,Weining XIANG⁴,Hung-lung Allen HUANG⁵,Chao ZHANG^1,²

1. Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
2. Joint Laboratory for Environmental Remote Sensing and Data Assimilation, ECNU&CEODE, Shanghai 200062, China
3. Colorado State University, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA
4. Shanghai Key Laboratory for Urban Ecology and Sustainability, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
5. University of Wisconsin–Madison, Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA

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Abstract

This work aims to analyze the spatial and temporal variability of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from 2000 to 2012 in the Changjiang River Delta (CRD), China. US Terra satellite moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) AOD and ?ngstr?m exponent (α) data constitute a baseline, with the empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) method used as a major data analysis method. The results show that the maximum value of AOD observed in June is 1.00±0.12, and the lowest value detected in December is 0.40±0.05. AOD in spring and summer is higher than in autumn and winter. On the other hand, the α-value is lowest in spring (0.86±0.10), which are affected by coarse particles. High α-value appears in summer (1.32±0.05), which indicate that aerosols are dominated by fine particles. The spatial distribution of AOD has a close relationship with terrain and population density. Generally, high AODs are distributed in the low-lying plains, and low AODs in the mountainous areas. The spatial and temporal patterns of seasonal AODs show that the first three EOF modes cumulatively account for 77% of the total variance. The first mode that explains 67% of the total variance shows the primary spatial distribution of aerosols, i.e., high AODs are distributed in the northern areas and low AODs in the southern areas. The second mode (7%) shows that the monsoon climate probably plays an important role in modifying the distribution of aerosols, especially in summer and winter. In the third mode (3%), this distribution of aerosols usually occurs in spring and winter when the prevailing northwestern or western winds could bring aerosol particles from the inland areas into the central regions of the CRD.

Keywords AOD MODIS EOFs ?ngstr?m exponent Changjiang River Delta

Corresponding Author(s): Qing ZHAO

Online First Date: 15 July 2014 Issue Date: 04 February 2015

Cite this article:

Tianyong ZHAI,Qing ZHAO,Wei GAO, et al. Analysis of spatio-temporal variability of aerosol optical depth with empirical orthogonal functions in the Changjiang River Delta, China[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2015, 9(1): 1-12.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-014-0444-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2015/V9/I1/1

Fig.1 Location of Changjiang River Delta and its spatial distribution of altitude in meters.

Fig.2 Annual average AOD derived from MODIS at 550 nm from 2000 to 2012. The dashed line represents the long-term variability trend of the AODs derived from the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) analysis.

Fig.3 Multi-year seasonal average AOD at 550 nm and ?ngstr?m exponent from 2000 to 2012. The error bars on the dots along y-axis denote the standard deviation.

Fig.4 Seasonal average AOD at 550 nm (a) and ?ngstr?m exponent (b) from 2000 to 2012.

Fig.5 Monthly average AOD at 550 nm and ?ngstr?m exponent from 2000 to 2012.

Fig.6 The spatial distribution of AOD at 550 nm averaged from MODIS from 2000 to 2012 in the Changjiang River Delta.

Fig.7 The spatial distribution of annual average AOD at 550 nm in the Changjiang River Delta from 2000 to 2012.

Fig.8 Spatial distributions of seasonal average AOD at 550 nm (upper panel) and ?ngstr?m exponent (lower panel) in the Changjiang River Delta during 2000–2012.

Tab.1 Percentage variance explained for the first five empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) modes.

Fig.9 Spatial modes of seasonal AOD in the Changjiang River Delta by the empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs), i.e., (a) the first EOF mode, (b) second EOF mode, and (c) third EOF mode.

Fig.10 Time coefficients corresponding to the EOF modes: (a) first mode; (b) second mode; and (c) third mode.

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