Biomass-burning aerosol over northern Australia

Australia's two main continental aerosol types are mineral dust from the arid interior, and smoke from biomass burning in the tropical north. In this study we examine the seasonal cycle of aerosol optical properties from two sites in the Australian tropics: Lake Argyle and Jabiru. In each case...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian meteorological and oceanographic journal 2012-03, Vol.62 (1), p.25-33
Main Authors: Radhi, M, Box, M, Box, G, Mitchell, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Marine
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Summary:Australia's two main continental aerosol types are mineral dust from the arid interior, and smoke from biomass burning in the tropical north. In this study we examine the seasonal cycle of aerosol optical properties from two sites in the Australian tropics: Lake Argyle and Jabiru. In each case we see a distinct seasonal cycle, with highest values of aerosol loading occurring during spring, the height of the savanna burning season. The seasonal cycle of Angstrom exponent, a simple but effective guide to particle size, shows that it is fine mode particles which dominate during this time, as expected of biomass burning aerosol. We have also examined size distribution retrievals, and found similar results. An examination of these distributions for successive days showed results consistent with the dual effects of advection, and particle growth expected of smoke aging.
ISSN:1836-716X
1836-716X
DOI:10.22499/2.6201.003