US-India Cooperative Research: Aerosol Optical Characterization and Investigation of Aerosol Radiative Forcing at the Surface and Top of the Atmosphere

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

0004471 Pinker Description: This award supports a US-India cooperative research project on Aerosol Optical Characterization and Investigation of Aerosol Radiative Forcing at the Surface and Top of the Atmosphere. The collaborators are Professor Rachel Pinker, University of Maryland and Professors G. Pandithurai and P.C.S. Devara, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. The effect of radiative forcing by anthropogenic aerosols is one of the largest sources of uncertainty in climate prediction, particularly for poorly understood tropical aerosols. The PIs propose to add to the knowledge of aerosol optical characteristics through direct observation of the forcing at a tropical site. A radiometer from the US PI's home institution for characterizing aerosol optical properties will be deployed in India to augment existing IITM instrumentation for both active and passive remote sensing of aerosols. Scope: This research further enhances current collaborative efforts between the University of Maryland and the IITM on radiative effects of aerosols. Dr. Pandithurai spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maryland and worked in the areas pertinent to this research. The proposed activity will provide a coherent set of observations on aerosol optical properties, their vertical distribution, and their radiative effects. It will also help extend the results obtained from the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) to other continental regions. This award is jointly supported by the Division of International Programs and the Division of Atmospheric Sciences.