Impacts of the Variations of Aerosols Components and Relative Humidity on the Visibility and Particles Size Distribution of the Desert Atmosphere: Validating Results Obtained from OPAC 4.0 using MERRA-2 Model (Angstrom Exponent and Extinction Coefficient) Data
S. U. Yerima *
Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria.
B. I. Tijjani
Department of Physics, Bayero University Kano, Kano State, Nigeria.
U. M. Gana
Department of Physics, Bayero University Kano, Kano State, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In this work, data extracted from OPAC 4.0 was compared and validated with 11 years data record from MEERA-2 model (average Angstrom Exponent and average Extinction Coefficient). The 11 years MEERA-2 model data for 10 selected deserts was extracted at an average relative humidity (RH) condition of 78%RH while OPAC considers eight different (RH) levels (00% to 99%RH). Based on the investigation, MEERA-2 model has the highest angstrom exponent (a) values for (Arabian, Danakil, Ferlo, Lompoul, Patagonian, Registan and Syrian deserts), which is greater than 1, and this signifies the dominance of fine mode particles over coarse mode particles when compared to OPAC 4.0. It can be seen that Chalbi (0.845), Karoo (0.482) and Sahara (0.417) deserts have an a values which is less than 1(indicating the dominance of coarse mode particles over fine mode particles). It can also be said that, MEERA-2 (a) is still greater than that of OPAC and this shows that the deserts atmosphere can be dominated by fine mode particles. The angstrom exponent (a) for OPAC 4.0 fluctuate all through the four studied components except for WASO which increases with the increase in RH and particles concentration (and this signifies that the particles dissolved as they uptake water and reach their saturation level). Based on the results of the investigation (time series analysis), it was found that the model’s significance (b) level are very high, and this shows that the aerosols distribution fluctuates around a reasonable stable, which signifies that the models are very significant. The analysis further found that, the significance (d) from the seasonal aspect is very poor except for Ferlo and Lompoul deserts, this signifies that season effect is consistent over time. It was also found that, the MEERA-2 has the highest visibility (km) over (OPAC 4.0). The investigation further revealed that the Arabian, Syrian and Patagonian deserts have the highest visibility (km) in the months of January, February, June, November and December. OPAC model underestimated the visibility when compared to MEERA-2 model.
Keywords: Angstrom exponent, extinction coefficient, relative humidity, visibility, aerosols