Labban Abdulhaleem H, Butt Mohsin Jamil
Department of Meteorology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Center of Excellence for Climate Change Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
Heliyon. 2023 Jun 7;9(6):e17047. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17047. eCollection 2023 Jun.
Aerosol is one of the major climate-forcing parameters which affect the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular. The most relevant consideration that characterizes the aerosol properties and distribution is the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD). In this study Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2) AOD product from the year 1980-2021 is used to investigate aerosols pattern over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The validation of the MERRA-2 AOD product is made by using AOD data retrieved from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) stations located at Solar Village (SV) and at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Various statistical analyses are performed to test the reliability of MERRA-2 data in the study region. The results of the statistical analysis indicate that MERRA-2 is highly correlated with both AERONET stations data. Thus, annual and seasonal aerosol climatology maps based on 41 years of MERRA-2 data are prepared and analyzed over the study region. The annual and seasonal aerosol climatology analysis of MERRA-2 data shows high density of AOD at southern and eastern regions while the low density emerges over the western and northern regions of the country during the study period. The results of the study are very encouraging, which increases our confidence level to use historical MERRA-2 AOD product to improve the knowledge on aerosols distribution over the region in future.
气溶胶是影响沙特阿拉伯王国的主要气候强迫参数之一。表征气溶胶特性和分布的最相关考量因素是气溶胶光学厚度（AOD）。在本研究中，使用了1980 - 2021年的现代时代回顾性研究与应用分析（MERRA - 2）AOD产品来调查沙特阿拉伯王国上空的气溶胶模式。通过使用从位于太阳能村（SV）和阿卜杜拉国王科技大学（KAUST）的气溶胶机器人网络（AERONET）站点获取的AOD数据，对MERRA - 2 AOD产品进行了验证。进行了各种统计分析以检验MERRA - 2数据在研究区域的可靠性。统计分析结果表明，MERRA - 2与两个AERONET站点的数据高度相关。因此，基于41年MERRA - 2数据编制并分析了研究区域的年度和季节气溶胶气候学地图。MERRA - 2数据的年度和季节气溶胶气候学分析表明，在研究期间，该国南部和东部地区的AOD密度较高，而西部地区和北部地区的密度较低。该研究结果非常令人鼓舞，这增加了我们在未来使用历史MERRA - 2 AOD产品来增进对该区域气溶胶分布了解的信心。
