Latest decade's spatial-temporal properties of aerosols over China

Aerosols are one of the most important parameters affecting the Earth's energy balance and hydrological cycle1. They can arouse uncertainties effects on climates. To narrow the uncertainties associated with the direct and indirect aerosol effects on climates, the spatial-temporal properties of aerosol over China are investigated using the radiance measurements performed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on board the Terra and Aqua satellites from 2002 to 2010. The most prominent variational regions are the northern, eastern China. The high AOD values occur in 2004, 2006 and 2007 year, respectively. The tendencies of AOD are in good agreement with corresponding AOD tendencies based on data from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) stations in the study regions2. Seasonal AOD maxima are obtained in spring (March to May) and summer (June to August) seasons, due to large humidity and biomass burning, respectively. Dust activities in spring are frequent occurrences that also lead to high aerosol loading. AOD minima are obtained in winter (December to February) seasons. The result of our analysis reveal significant trend of seasonal AOD in the Northern and Southern China.