Mesoscale variations of tropospheric aerosols

Tropospheric aerosols are calculated to cause global-scale changes in the earth's heat balance, but these forcings are space/time integrals over highly variable quantities. Accurate quantification of these forcings will require an unprecedented synergy among satellite, airborne, and surface-based observations, as well as models. This study considers one aspect of achieving this synergy-the need to treat aerosol variability in a consistent and realistic way. This need creates a requirement to rationalize the differences in spatiotemporal resolution and coverage among the various observational and modeling approaches. It is shown, based on aerosol optical data from diverse regions, that mesoscale variability (specifically, for horizontal scales of 40-400 km and temporal scales of 2-48 h) is a common and perhaps universal feature of lower-tropospheric aerosol light extinction. Such variation is below the traditional synoptic or "airmass" scale (where the aerosol is often assumed to be essentially homogeneous except for plumes from point sources) and below the scales that are readily resolved by chemical transport models. The present study focuses on documenting this variability. Possible physical causes and practical implications for coordinated observational strategies are also discussed.