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标题：Aerosol Characteristics and Their Impact on the Himalayan Energy Budget
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作者：Kesar Chand ; Jagdish Chandra Kuniyal ; Shruti Kanga 等
期刊名称：Sustainability
印刷版ISSN：2071-1050
出版年度：2022
卷号：14
期号：1
页码：179
DOI：10.3390/su14010179
语种：English
出版社：MDPI, Open Access Journal
摘要：The extensive work on the increasing burden of aerosols and resultant climate implications shows a matter of great concern. In this study, we investigate the aerosol optical depth (AOD) variations in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) between its plains and alpine regions and the corresponding consequences on the energy balance on the Himalayan glaciers. For this purpose, AOD data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS, MOD-L3), Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), India, and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) were analyzed. Aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) was assessed using the atmospheric radiation transfer model (RTM) integrated into AERONET inversion code based on the Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer (DISORT) module. Further, air mass trajectory over the entire IHR was analyzed using a hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. We estimated that between 2001 and 2015, the monthly average ARF at the surface (ARFSFC), top of the atmosphere (ARFTOA), and atmosphere (ARFATM) were −89.6 ± 18.6 Wm−2, −25.2 ± 6.8 Wm−2, and +64.4 ± 16.5 Wm−2, respectively. We observed that during dust aerosol transport days, the ARFSFC and TOA changed by −112.2 and −40.7 Wm−2, respectively, compared with low aerosol loading days, thereby accounting for the decrease in the solar radiation by 207% reaching the surface. This substantial decrease in the solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface increases the heating rate in the atmosphere by 3.1-fold, thereby acting as an additional forcing factor for accelerated melting of the snow and glacier resources of the IHR.