Abstract:
During a comprehensive aerosol field campaign as a
part of the ISRO-GBP, extensive measurements of radiative
fluxes at the surface were made during December 2004 at
Manora Peak, in the Shivalik ranges of the Central
Himalayas. The surface radiative fluxes were used to
estimate aerosol radiative forcing. Our analysis clearly
shows that during the clean atmospheric conditions over
Manora Peak, the observed aerosol radiative forcing is in
good agreement to those of modeled ones, while for the
higher aerosol optical depths (AODs), modeled values are
significantly smaller than the observed ones. It was
observed that at Manora Peak, the anthropogenic aerosols
(from valley below) transported upwards by evolution of
boundary layer during the daytime provide an atmosphere
conducive for ‘mixed’ aerosols. Focused efforts are needed
to address this issue for which simultaneous observations at
high altitude site with those in nearby valley are essential.
