Monthly distribution of diurnal total column ozone based on the 2011 satellite data in Peninsular Malaysia

Ozone (O3) is a radiatively active trace gas, and naturally present in our atmosphere, that plays a prominent role in atmosphere heating rates due to its good capability to absorb the infrared radiation. O3 occurs both naturally in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and at the ground level. As we breathe the air on Earth, O3 causes damage to the lung tissue and plants as it is an injurious pollutant; it is a major constituent of smog. The atmospheric O3 observations can only be made on global and continental scales by remote sensing instruments situated in the space. The satellite-borne sensor, namely the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) included on the EOS Aqua satellite, was employed to investigate the spatial and temporal variations of diurnal total column Ozone burden over Peninsular Malaysia for the year 2011. The analysis of O3 above five dispersed stations in the study area shows the seasonal variation in the O3 fluctuated considerably observed between NEM and SWM seasons. The mean and the standard deviation of monthly O3 was 244.7 ± 26.8 DU for the entire period, and O3 values strongly correlated with weather conditions. The highest O3 values occurred over industrial and congested urban zones (271.5 DU) on May at Johor. The lowest O3 values were observed during NEM in the pristine coastal environment on December at Kuantan (217 DU; at 3.45°N, 103.20°E). The O3 has an inverse relationship with the rain and positive with temperature. The monthly O3 maps were obtained from the NASA-operated Giovanni portal (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/giovanni). The AIRS data and the satellite measurements are able to measure the increase of the atmosphere O3 concentrations over different areas.