On Eastern Asian Dust Storm

In this paper, the characteristics of eastern Asian dust storm are examined with emphasis on the satellite measurements of aerosol optical thickness. The reflectivity of solar radiation from the earth’s atmosphere depends on the optical thickness. The satellite measurement of radiance of sunlight, scattered by the earth and its atmosphere, is used to derive the properties of aerosol on oceanic surfaces. This paper involves the following: (1) investigation of the measurement of dust storm over the oceanic surface by GMS satellite; (2) investigation of the measurement of dust storm over the land surface by ground-based instruments such as actinometer, lidar, etc.; (3) for comparison, de-riving an atmospheric aerosol size distribution over the oceanic surface of calm weather through measurements of NOAA satellite; and (4) the weather process and its mass load of eastern Asian dust storm.