Comparison between aerosol optical properties and PM measurements in the Po Valley: implications for air quality evaluation from space

摘要

Particulate matter air quality monitoring from space represents a tool to complement in situ measurements. The satellite-derived quantity generally related to the in-situ measured aerosol mass (PM) is the aerosol optical thickness (AOT), that optically quantifies the aerosol load in the atmospheric column. In this study we investigate the role of the aerosol vertical distribution on the AOT-PM10 relationship employing a two year-dataset (2006-2007) of aerosol physical and optical measurements performed by both in situ and remote sensing techniques at the EC-Joint Research Centre in Ispra (Po Valley, Northern Italy). Based on this dataset, we demonstrate that, in this region, the information on the aerosol vertical distribution is essential for a trustworthy retrieval of PM from space.