Winter seasons assessment of atmospheric aerosol over Coalfield region of India using geoinformatics

Aerosol optical thickness (AOT), temperature and precipitable water vapour (PWV) were measured using MICROTOPS II Sunphotometer during the month of January 2011 and January 2014 for their analysis in the winter season over South Karanpura Coalfield region, Jharkhand, India. Patterns of AOT concentration (at five different wavelengths 340, 500, 870, 936 and 1020 nm) were measured along with water vapour and temperature, which were then spatially analyzed with reference to land use/land cover (LU/LC) of the region. Spatial distribution of AOT indicated higher concentration over industrial area (1.923-3.333 at 340 nm) and construction sites (> 2.955 at 340 nm) and lower concentrations (< 0.511 at 340 nm) over planned residential areas. To determine the aerosol size distribution, Ǻngstrӧm parameters (α, β) were calculated at wavelengths 340-870 nm (2011 and 2014) which ranged between 0.422 and 1.286 and 0.472 to 2.593 in January 2011 and 2014 respectively for 'α', whereas 'β' value lies between 0.127 and 1.379 in January 2011 and 0.031 to 1.923 in January 2014. The study indicates the presence of different particle sizes of aerosol associated with industries and coal mining activities which contribute significantly to increased aerosol concentration in the study area.