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

摘要

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.