Vertical Distributions and Trends of Aerosol Properties in the Baltimore, MD/D.C. Region from Aircraft, Satellites, and Surface Observations from 2000 to 2018

Aerosols contribute directly and indirectly to Earth's radiative budget, but large uncertainties remain in quantifying aerosol effects on climate. Additionally, particulate matter (PM) has been linked to a variety of negative health outcomes. Aircraft observations from the Regional Atmospheric Measurement Modeling and Prediction Program (RAMMPP) will be used to investigate aerosol properties and trends in the planetary boundary layer and lower free troposphere from 2000 to 2018 in the Baltimore, MD/Washington, D.C. region. Aerosol optical properties from RAMMPP measurements, such as aerosol scattering and backscattering, absorption, extinction, single scattering albedo, Angstrom exponent, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) are characterized during this time period. P3-B measurements from the 2011 NASA Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) campaign, as well as observations from the Ozone Water-Land Environmental Transition Study (OWLETS) in 2017 and 2018 supplement the analysis. These trends are compared to monthly mean AOD over the Baltimore/Washington region from several instruments such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO), the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). Comparison to ground networks, such as the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE), will also be assessed. With a growing reliance on remote-sensing methods to quantify aerosol impacts on climate, it is necessary to assess the performance of multiple instruments against independent field measurements, including in situ measurements from aircraft. By comparing multiple different instruments of aerosol properties from aircraft, satellites, and surface observations, this work will strengthen the understanding of long-term aerosol loading trends in a densely populated urban center.