Estimation of transboundary transport of pollution aerosols by remote sensing in the eastern Mediterranean

[1] Quantifying transboundary transport of pollution is important for understanding the global distribution of pollution and pollutant burdens in regional and global scales. Using observations from the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( MODIS) on board the Terra and Aqua satellites, the transport of pollution sulfate aerosol was estimated in the eastern Mediterranean. Over a 150 km line west of the Israeli coast, the estimated annual sulfate flux is in a range of 0.025 to 0.062 Tg S a(-1). These estimates are consistent with airborne measurements which estimated an annual flux of sulfate of 0.024-0.054 TgS a(-1). The MODIS-based estimates are also in good agreement with estimates of seasonal and annual fluxes from the GOCART model. This case study demonstrates a feasible way to estimate transboundary transport of pollution aerosol by remote sensing means.