Satellite Observations of Long-term Trends of Aerosols and Aerosol Radiative Effect Over India

Anthropogenic and natural processes, responsible for aerosol loading in the atmosphere, change over time and these changes carry serious implications for human health and climate change from regional to global scales. Satellite-based and model studies show trends in aerosol optical depth (AOD) over global oceans and regionally over both ocean and land. These trends in AOD, and any accompanying change in aerosol type or composition, will change how those aerosols perturb radiation fields and energy balance in specific regions. We call this perturbation to the radiation fields aerosol radiative effect (ARE). We analyze the long-term trends in AOD, as measured from multiple satellites, and ARE, as calculated from satellite measurements including Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy Systems (CERES) as function of season over the Indian Sub-Continent. We will discuss initial results from this analysis at local and regional scales.