Dust over the Tibetan Plateau measured by CALIPSO

Airborne dust distributions over the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas derived from the first year of CALIPSO lidar observations

Using an analysis of the first full year of CALIPSO lidar measurements, this paper derives unprecedented, altitude-resolved seasonal distributions of desert dust transported over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and the surrounding areas. The CALIPSO lidar observations include numerous large dust plumes over the northern slope and eastern part of the TP, with the largest number of dust events occurring...

Interactive comment on “Airborne dust distributions over the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas derived from the first year of CALIPSO lidar observations” by Zhaoyan Liu et al

How can aerosols affect the Asian summer monsoon? Assessment during three consecutive pre-monsoon seasons from CALIPSO satellite data

The impact of aerosols above and around the Tibetan Plateau on the Asian Summer Monsoon during premonsoon seasons March-April-May 2007, 2008, and 2009 is investigated by means of remote sensing and radiative transfer modelling. Four source regions are found to be responsible for the high aerosol loading around the Tibetan Plateau: the Taklamakan Desert, the Ganges Plains, the Indus Plains, and ...

A less or more dusty future in the Northern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau?

Dust plays an important role in climate changes as it can alter atmospheric circulation, and global biogeochemical and hydrologic cycling. Many studies have investigated the relationship between dust and temperature in an attempt to predict whether global warming in coming decades to centuries can result in a less or more dusty future. However, dust and temperature changes have rarely been simu...

Seasonal migration of cirrus clouds over the Asian Monsoon regions and the Tibetan Plateau measured from MODIS/Terra

[1] By using a 4-year data set of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cirrus cloud reflectance, the seasonal migration of cirrus clouds over the Asian Monsoon regions and the Tibetan Plateau has been studied. There are two distinct regions with large amount of high clouds. One is located between the equator and 20 N, where intensified high clouds show clear northward and s...