Aerosols-Cloud Properties in Dynamic Atmosphere over Kedarnath Sub-Himalayan Region of India: a Long Term Study from MODIs Satellite

The present long term study deals with the aerosol-cloud optical properties carried out during 2003-2012 over Kedarnath (30.73°N, 79.07°E) of the sub-Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India with a resolution of 1°×1° grid in magnitude. The study was conducted using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. Interannual and seasonal variations of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) are examined in the light of regional synoptic climatic meteorology. Aerosol optical depths have found to be increased >28 % across Kedarnath region of India during the study period of 2003-2012. Annual mean Terra/Aqua AOD values at 550 nm displayed an increasing trend at a rate of ∼0.0045/0.0089 per year respectively. Further, seasonal winter means Terra/Aqua AOD values exhibit an increasing trend at a rate of ∼0.013/0.006 per year respectively. The results extracted in the present study are compared with the earlier studies as well as with the AOD values over various other Indian regions.