A Derivation of Aerosol Optical Depth Estimates from Direct Normal Irradiance Measurements

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study introduces a method for estimating Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) using Broadband Aerosol Optical Depth(BAOD) derived from direct normal irradiance and meteorological factors observed between 2016 and 2017. Through correlationanalyses between BAOD and atmospheric components such as Rayleigh scattering, water vapor, and tropospheric nitrogen dioxide,significant relationships were identified, enabling accurate AOD estimation. The methodology demonstrated high correlation coefficientsand low Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) compared to actual AOD500 measurements, indicating that the attenuation effects of watervapor and the direct impact of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide concentration are crucial for precise aerosol optical depth estimation. Theapplication of BAOD for estimating AOD500 across various time scales—hourly, daily, and monthly—showed the approach’srobustness in understanding aerosol distributions and their optical properties, with a high coefficient of determination (0.96) formonthly average AOD500 estimates. This study simplifies the aerosol monitoring process and enhances the accuracy and reliability ofAOD estimations, offering valuable insights into aerosol research and its implications for climate modeling and air quality assessment.
The findings underscore the viability of using BAOD as a surrogate for direct AOD500 measurements, presenting a promising avenuefor more accessible and accurate aerosol monitoring practices, crucial for improving our understanding of aerosol dynamics and theirenvironmental impacts.