Southern Brazil: analysis of aerosols from different sources through the sensors MODIS and CALIOP

Abstract

Aerosols in the atmosphere directly and indirectly influence the climate of a region. However, studies related to the effects of aerosols in some areas are scarce. The southern region of Brazil is located next to major known sources of particulate matter (Brazilian savanna, Amazonia and southeastern Brazil). Thus, it has the peculiarity of having the contribution of the transport of aerosols from other sources with optical characteristics very different from each other, also with the influence of regional aerosols. This paper aims to present a project to analyze the impact of aerosols in the atmosphere over the Southern region using satellite data from Terra/Aqua (MODIS) and CALIPSO (CALIOP sensor) in the period from 2007 to 2010. With the measurements of aerosol optical depth, the atmosphere in the region will be classified into different groups. We also intend to analyze the vertical profile of aerosols and transport patterns of particulate matter from sources close to the study area, the latter with FNL data from NCEP with 1.0 ° of space resolution and time resolution of 6h. Through the preliminary results it is clear that the optical depth of aerosols in the years 2009 and 2010 reached a maximum during the winter period, probably due to fires that occur in a large part of South America

Aerosols in the atmosphere directly and indirectly influence the climate of a region. However, studies related to the effects of aerosols in some areas are scarce. The southern region of Brazil is located next to major known sources of particulate matter (Brazilian savanna, Amazonia and southeastern Brazil). Thus, it has the peculiarity of having the contribution of the transport of aerosols from other sources with optical characteristics very different from each other, also with the influence of regional aerosols. This paper aims to present a project to analyze the impact of aerosols in the atmosphere over the Southern region using satellite data from Terra/Aqua (MODIS) and CALIPSO (CALIOP sensor) in the period from 2007 to 2010. With the measurements of aerosol optical depth, the atmosphere in the region will be classified into different groups. We also intend to analyze the vertical profile of aerosols and transport patterns of particulate matter from sources close to the study area, the latter with FNL data from NCEP with 1.0 ° of space resolution and time resolution of 6h. Through the preliminary results it is clear that the optical depth of aerosols in the years 2009 and 2010 reached a maximum during the winter period, probably due to fires that occur in a large part of South America