Author

Xiao Ma

Date of Award

January 2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Atmospheric Sciences

First Advisor

Jianglong Zhang

Abstract

Using surface observations from the Integrated Surface Database (ISD), remotely sensed data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and modeled data from National Centers of Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and United Kingdom Met Office (UKMO) models, the aerosol induced surface cooling effect is studied for eight selected regions. The results of this study indicate that aerosol plumes could impact surface temperature forecasts for all four seasons in East Asia and India and for seasons with heavy aerosol plumes in the Middle East and South Africa. No clear signals are found for either the impact of cloud contamination or the impact of aerosol type on the aerosol cooling effect. Overall, the findings of the study suggest the need for including aerosols in numerical forecasts for regions that experience heavy aerosol plumes, as well as highlights the regions and seasons that would require the consideration of such an effort.

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