Comparison of key absorption and optical properties between pure and transported anthropogenic dust over East and Central Asia

摘要

Abstract. Asian dust particulate is one of the primary aerosol constituents in the Earth-atmosphere system that exerts profound influences on environmental quality, human health, marine biogeochemical cycle and Earth’s climate. To date, the absorptive capacity of dust aerosol generated from Asian desert region is still an open question. In this article, we compile columnar key absorption and optical properties of mineral dust over East and Central Asia areas by utilizing the multi-year quality assured datasets observed at 13 sites of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). We identify two types of Asian dust according to threshold criteria from previously published literature. (I) The particles with high aerosol optical depth at 440 nm (AOD440 ≥ 0.4) and low Ångström wavelength exponent at 440–870 nm (α