The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) lidar, on board the International Space Station (ISS), provides a new opportunity for studying aerosol vertical distributions, especially the diurnal variations, from space observations. In this study, we investigate the seasonal variations and diurnal cycles in the vertical aerosol extinction coefficients (AECs) over East Asia by taking advantage of 32?months of continuous and uniform aerosol measurements from the CATS lidar. Over the Tibetan Plateau, a belt of AECs at approximately 6km between 30 and 38°N persistently exists in all seasons with an obvious seasonal variation. In summer, the aerosols at 6km are identified as a mixture of both anthropogenic aerosols transported from India and coarse dust particles from Asian dust sources. In addition, the high AECs up to 8km in summer over the Tibetan Plateau are caused by smoke aerosols from thermal dynamic processes. In fall and winter, the northern slope of the plateau is continuously influenced by both dust aerosols and polluted aerosols transported upslope from cities located at lower elevations in northwestern Asia. The diurnal variation in AECs in North China is mainly related to the diurnal variations in the transported dust and local polluted aerosols. Below 2km, the AEC profiles in North China at 06:00 and 12:00CST (China standard time) are significantly higher than those at 00:00 and 18:00CST, reaching a maximum at midday. The aerosol vertical profiles over the Tarim Desert region in summer have obvious diurnal variations, and the AECs at 12:00 and 18:00CST are significantly higher than those at 00:00 and 06:00CST, which are induced by the strong diurnal variations in near-surface wind speeds. In addition, the peak in the AEC profiles has a significant seasonal variation, which is mainly determined by the boundary layer height.
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