Characteristics of aerosol optical properties and meteorological parameters during three major dust events (2005–2010) over Beijing, China

• Major dust storms over Beijing China during 2005–2010
• Large increase in aerosol size distribution in coarse mode during dusty days
• Enhancement of water mass mixing ratio after dust events
• AIRS data shows changes in atmospheric parameters at lower pressure levels.
• High Air pollution index shows during dusty days.

Multi-satellite sensors are capable of monitoring transport and characteristics of dust storms and changes in atmospheric parameters along their transport. The present paper discusses aerosol optical properties and meteorological parameters during major dust storm events occurred in the period 2005–2010 over Beijing, China. The back trajectory model shows that the dust is transported from the Inner Mongolia and Mongolia arid regions to Beijing. High aerosol optical depth (AOD) at the wavelength 675 nm and low Ångström exponent (AE) values in the wavelength 440–870 nm are observed during dusty days. The aerosol size distribution (ASD) in coarse mode shows a large increase in the volume during dusty days. The single scattering albedo (SSA) increases with higher wavelength on dusty days, and is generally found to be higher compared to the days prior to and after the dust events, indicating the presence of high concentrations of scattering particles due to dust storm events. The physico-chemical properties of aerosols during dusty and non dusty days show distinct characteristics as reflected from the changes in the real and imaginary parts of refractive index (RI). In addition, the CO volume mixing ratio (COVMR) from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) shows a pronounced decrease on dusty days, while the H2O mass mixing ratio (H2OMMR) shows enhanced signal. Furthermore, enhanced level of water vapor (WV) using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data is also observed in and around Beijing over the dust storms track.