Skip to main content
Duke University Libraries
DukeSpace Scholarship by Duke Authors
  • Login
  • Ask
  • Menu
  • Login
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Search & Find
  • Using the Library
  • Research Support
  • Course Support
  • Libraries
  • About
View Item 
  •   DukeSpace
  • Duke Scholarly Works
  • Scholarly Articles
  • View Item
  •   DukeSpace
  • Duke Scholarly Works
  • Scholarly Articles
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Joint spatial variability of aerosol, clouds and rainfall in the Himalayas from satellite data

Thumbnail
View / Download
3.3 Mb
Date
2010-09-14
Authors
Shrestha, P
Barros, AP
Repository Usage Stats
317
views
230
downloads
Abstract
Satellite-based precipitation, Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Cloud Optical Depth (COD), and Aerosol Index (AI) data were used to characterize the linkages among landform and the intra-annual variability of aerosols, cloudiness and rainfall in the Himalayas using empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. The first modes of AOD and AI show the presence of two branches of dust aerosol: over the Indus river basin and the Thar desert with a sharp west-east gradient parallel to the southern slopes of the Himalayas the Southern Branch; and the second against the slopes of the Tian Shan and over the Takla Makan desert in the Tibetan Plateau-the Northern branch. The third EOF mode of AOD accounts for about 7% of overall variance of AOD. It is attached to the foothills of the Himalayas east of the Aravalli range peaking in April-May-June followed by a sharp decrease in July during the first active phase of the monsoon. The first and second EOF modes of COD and precipitation show consistent patterns against the central and eastern Himalayas and along the ocean-land boundaries in western India and the Bay of Bengal. The break in cloudiness and rainfall between the winter and the monsoon seasons is captured well by the second EOF mode of COD and rainfall concurrent with the aerosol build up mode (April-May) over the region depicted by the third mode of AOD. The results show that the Aravalli range separates the two different modes of aerosol variability over northern India with dust aerosols to the west and polluted mixed aerosols to the east consistent with its role in regional circulation and precipitations patterns as per Barros et al. (2004) and Chiao and Barros (2007). SVD analysis between rainfall, COD and AOD showed a pattern of aerosol loading (resembling EOF3 of MODIS AOD) extending from 80° E∼90° E that peaks during the winter and pre-monsoon seasons and decays abruptly during the monsoon: the regions of aerosol buildup during the pre-monsoon season and the areas of high rainfall/cloudiness during the monsoon are collocated and have opposite signs suggesting aerosol-cloud-rainfall interaction. It is proposed that the third EOF of AOD maps the area where aerosol-cloud-rainfall interactions play an important role in the regional hydro-climatology. © Author(s) 2010.
Type
Journal article
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4619
Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.5194/acp-10-8305-2010
Publication Info
Shrestha, P; & Barros, AP (2010). Joint spatial variability of aerosol, clouds and rainfall in the Himalayas from satellite data. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 10(17). pp. 8305-8317. 10.5194/acp-10-8305-2010. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4619.
This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
  • Scholarly Articles
More Info
Show full item record

Scholars@Duke

Barros

Ana P. Barros

Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Professor Ana Barros was born in Africa, grew up in Angola and Portugal, and has lived almost all of her adult life in the United States. She attended the Faculty of Engineering of the University of O’Porto where she obtained a summa cum laude Diploma in Civil Engineering with majors in Structures and Hydraulics in 1985, and a M.Sc. degree in Ocean Engineering in 1988 with a thesis focusing on numerical modeling of sediment transport in estuaries and coastal regions. In 1990, Dr. Barros
Open Access

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy

Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles


Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info

Make Your Work Available Here

How to Deposit

Browse

All of DukeSpaceCommunities & CollectionsAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit Date

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
Duke University Libraries

Contact Us

411 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-5870
Perkins Library Service Desk

Digital Repositories at Duke

  • Report a problem with the repositories
  • About digital repositories at Duke
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Deaccession and DMCA Takedown Policy

TwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickrInstagramBlogs

Sign Up for Our Newsletter
  • Re-use & Attribution / Privacy
  • Harmful Language Statement
  • Support the Libraries
Duke University