AEROSOL VERTICAL DISTRIBUTIONS AND COLUMNAR OPTICAL PROPERTIES OVER SINGAPORE - A REMOTE SENSING STUDY WITH AIR QUALITY APPLICATIONS

Abstract

ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOLS ARE A VITAL COMPONENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, WITH POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON THE GLOBAL CLIMATE, AND POTENTIAL RISKS TO PUBLIC HEALTH. IN RECENT TIMES, SATELLITE-BASED SENSORS, SUCH AS THE MODERATE RESOLUTION IMAGING SPECTROMETER (MODIS), PROVIDE UNPRECEDENTED COVERAGE OF THE GLOBAL AND REGIONAL AEROSOLS OVER LAND AND OCEAN. MODERN GROUND-BASED REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENT NETWORKS, SUCH AS THE AEROSOL ROBOTIC NETWORK (AERONET) AND THE MICRO-PULSE LIDAR NETWORK (MPLNET), ALSO ALLOW FOR AUTONOMOUS AND CONTINUOUS MEASUREMENTS OF AEROSOL PROPERTIES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. HOWEVER, OVER SOUTHEAST ASIA AND ESPECIALLY THE MARITIME CONTINENT (MC), CIRRUS CLOUDS ARE ENDEMIC, AND ARE A SOURCE OF POTENTIAL BIAS IN REGIONAL PASSIVE AEROSOL REMOTE SENSING DATASETS, DUE TO CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE TROPICAL WESTERN PACIFIC WARM POOL. IN THIS THESIS, THE BIAS DUE TO CIRRUS CLOUD CONTAMINATION IN AERONET SUN PHOTOMETER DATA IN SINGAPORE IS IDENTIFIED VIA COMBINED AERONET-MPLNET OPERATION, AND QUA