Characteristics of atmospheric aerosol optical depth variation over China in recent 30 years

This note retrieves the annual and monthly mean 0.75 mu m aerosol optical depth (AOD) by using the daily direct solar radiation and sunshine duration data cf 47 solar stations from 1961 to 1990. The characteristic of AOD variation over China in recent 30 years was analyzed. The results indicate that AOD increased obviously over China from 1961 to 1990. AOD increased most rapidly over the east part of Southwest China, the middle-and-lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Tibetan Plateau. The increasing trend of AOD is also relatively distinct in North China, the Shandong Peninsula, east part of Qinghai Province, and coastal areas of Guangdong Province. However, in most parts of Northwest China and Northeast China, the increase of AOD is less significant, while in the west part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and some parts of Yunnan Province, AOD shows decreasing tendency. Generally, AOD reaches its maximum in spring and the minimum appears in summer. As to the linear trend, the maximum occurs in spring but the minimum in winter. Among the 47 stations selected in this note, the largest three stations of AOD are Chengdu, Chongqing and Nanchong, respectively, which all lie in the Sichuan Basin, and the smallest value of AOD occurs in Jinghong located in Yunnan Province.