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Tropical Atlantic Dust and Smoke Aerosol Variations Related to the Madden-Julian Oscillation in MODIS and MISR ObservationsIn this study, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) fine mode fraction and Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) nonspherical fraction data are used to derive dust and smoke aerosol optical thickness (T(sub dust) and T(sub smoke)) over the tropical Atlantic in a complementary way: due to its wider swath, MODIS has 3-4 times greater sampling than MISR, but MISR dust discrimination is based on particle shape retrievals, whereas an empirical scheme is used for MODIS. MODIS and MISR show very similar dust and smoke winter climatologies. T(sub dust) is the dominant aerosol component over the tropical Atlantic, accounting for 40-70 percent of the total aerosol optical thickness (AOT), whereas T(sub smoke) is significantly smaller than T(sub dust). The consistency and high correlation between these climatologies and their daily variations lends confidence to their use for investigating the relative dust and smoke contributions to the total AOT variation associated with the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). The temporal evolution and spatial patterns of the τdus anomalies associated with the MJO are consistent between MODIS and MISR: the magnitude of MJO-realted T(sub dust) anomalies is comparable to or even larger than that of the total T, while the T(sub smoke) anomaly represents about 15 percent compared to the total, which is quite different from their relative magnitudes to the total T on the climatological time scale. This suggests that dust and smoke are not influenced by the MJO in the same way. Based on correlation analysis, dust is strongly influenced by the MJO-modulated trade wind and precipitation anomalies, and can last as long as one MJO phase, whereas smoke is less affected.
Document ID
20140011192
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
doi:10.1002/jgrd.50409
Authors
Guo, Yanjuan (California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Tian, Baijun (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Kahn, Ralph A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Kalashnikova, Olga (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Wong, Sun (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Waliser, Duane E. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 29, 2014
Publication Date
May 27, 2013
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Publisher: Wiley
Volume: 118
Issue: 10
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN8698
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF ATM-0840755
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Madden-Julian Oscillation
MODIS and MISR Observations
Tropical atlantic dust and smoke

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