Analysis of the Optical Thickness of the Aerosols From OMI Sensor in South America

Abstract

This work aims to evaluate the behavior of AOD (aerosol optical depth) over South American regions (Southern Cone, Legal Amazon, Northeastern Brazil and Southern Brazil), with different climate characteristics, analyzing their average behavior for the period from 2005 to 2019. The data are collected from OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) sensor of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) aboard the Aura satellite with spatial resolution of 1° x 1° and daily temporal resolution. From the data used, were made averages and percentiles, it was observed that there is a seasonal behavior in all the analyzed locations, with highest values (0.35 and 0.34) being found in the dry seasons and lowest in the rainy seasons (0.15 and 0.16). When analyzing influencing systems and the periods of rain and drought in the regions, it was possible to observe the relationship between the concentration of aerosols and precipitation, as the maximum values of aerosols occur in the drier seasons and this pattern is repeated in all regions except from the Northeastern region where other factors than climatological seem to have a greater influence, the anthropogenic influence is one of the hypotheses due to the location of the largest capitals of the region at the coast.

Keywords:
atmospheric pollution; aerosols; remote sensing