Global aerosol data set

Abstract

For climate change investigations it is necessary to include the influence of aerosol particles with their temporally and spatially variable properties in addition to the known effects of greenhouse gases. Global fields of all optical parameters necessary for an estimate of the radiative forcing by aerosol particles and to quantify the resulting climate effects are not available from measurements due to the multiple influence parameters. Therefore, aerosol data globally existing from different measurements and more extensive models have been compiled into the global aerosol data set (GADS). In the GADS presented here, the atmospheric aerosol particles are described by 10 main aerosol components which are representative for the atmosphere and characterised through their size distribution and their refractive index depending on the wavelength. These aerosol particles are based on components resulting from aerosol emission, formation and removal processes within the atmosphere, so that they exist as mixture of different substances, both external and internal. Typical components include water-soluble, water-insoluble, soot, sea-salt and mineral. The sea salt particles are defined in two size classes and the mineral particles in four. (orig.)Available from TIB Hannover: RR 1347(243) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman