Beyond the lockdowns: satellite observations of aerosol optical depth through 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
Anticipated future reductions in aerosol emissions are expected to accelerate warming and substantially change precipitation characteristics. Therefore, it is vital to identify the existing patterns and possible future pathways of anthropogenic aerosol reductions. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted abru...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac7889 |
| _version_ | 1827869883499544576 |
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| author | Sarah Elise Smith Mingfang Ting Yutian Wu Cheng Zheng |
| author_facet | Sarah Elise Smith Mingfang Ting Yutian Wu Cheng Zheng |
| author_sort | Sarah Elise Smith |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anticipated future reductions in aerosol emissions are expected to accelerate warming and substantially change precipitation characteristics. Therefore, it is vital to identify the existing patterns and possible future pathways of anthropogenic aerosol reductions. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted abrupt, global declines in transportation and industrial activities, providing opportunities to study the aerosol effects of pandemic-driven emissions changes. Here, measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from two satellite instruments were used to characterize aerosol burdens throughout 2020 in four Northern Hemisphere source regions (Eastern & Central China, the United States, India, and Europe). In most regions, record-low measures of AOD persisted beyond the earliest ‘lockdown’ periods of the pandemic. Record-low values were most concentrated during the boreal spring and summer months, when 56% to 72% of sampled months showed record-low AOD values for their respective regions. However, in India and Eastern & Central China, the COVID-19 AOD signature was eclipsed by sources of natural variability (dust) and a multi-year trend, respectively. In the United States and Europe, a likely COVID-19 signal peaks in the summer of 2020, contributing as much as −.01 to −.03 AOD units to observed anomalies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:51:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eb737149d64e41169273098b9d0c8164 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:51:22Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb737149d64e41169273098b9d0c81642023-08-09T15:13:41ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-0117707403610.1088/1748-9326/ac7889Beyond the lockdowns: satellite observations of aerosol optical depth through 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemicSarah Elise Smith0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5195-7334Mingfang Ting1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4302-4614Yutian Wu2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4428-6624Cheng Zheng3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8039-346XLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University , New York, NY, United States of AmericaLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University , New York, NY, United States of AmericaLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University , New York, NY, United States of AmericaLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University , New York, NY, United States of AmericaAnticipated future reductions in aerosol emissions are expected to accelerate warming and substantially change precipitation characteristics. Therefore, it is vital to identify the existing patterns and possible future pathways of anthropogenic aerosol reductions. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted abrupt, global declines in transportation and industrial activities, providing opportunities to study the aerosol effects of pandemic-driven emissions changes. Here, measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from two satellite instruments were used to characterize aerosol burdens throughout 2020 in four Northern Hemisphere source regions (Eastern & Central China, the United States, India, and Europe). In most regions, record-low measures of AOD persisted beyond the earliest ‘lockdown’ periods of the pandemic. Record-low values were most concentrated during the boreal spring and summer months, when 56% to 72% of sampled months showed record-low AOD values for their respective regions. However, in India and Eastern & Central China, the COVID-19 AOD signature was eclipsed by sources of natural variability (dust) and a multi-year trend, respectively. In the United States and Europe, a likely COVID-19 signal peaks in the summer of 2020, contributing as much as −.01 to −.03 AOD units to observed anomalies.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac7889COVID-19satellite observationsAODemissions |
| spellingShingle | Sarah Elise Smith Mingfang Ting Yutian Wu Cheng Zheng Beyond the lockdowns: satellite observations of aerosol optical depth through 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic Environmental Research Letters COVID-19 satellite observations AOD emissions |
| title | Beyond the lockdowns: satellite observations of aerosol optical depth through 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Beyond the lockdowns: satellite observations of aerosol optical depth through 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Beyond the lockdowns: satellite observations of aerosol optical depth through 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond the lockdowns: satellite observations of aerosol optical depth through 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Beyond the lockdowns: satellite observations of aerosol optical depth through 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | beyond the lockdowns satellite observations of aerosol optical depth through 2020 the first year of the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | COVID-19 satellite observations AOD emissions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac7889 |
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