Aerosol seasonal variations over urban sites in Ukraine and Belarus according to AERONET and POLDER measurements

Abstract. The paper presents an investigation of aerosol seasonal variations in several urban sites in the East European region. Our analysis of seasonal variations of optical and physical aerosol parameters is based on the sun-photometer 2008–2012 data from three urban ground-based AERONET sites in Ukraine (Kyiv, Kyiv-AO, and Lugansk) and one site in Belarus (Minsk), as well as on satellite POLDER instrument data for urban areas in Ukraine. Aerosol amount and optical thickness values exhibit peaks in the spring (April–May) and late summer (August), whereas minimum values are seen in late autumn over the Kyiv and Minsk sites. The results show that aerosol fine mode particles are most frequently detected during the spring and late summer seasons. The seasonal variation similarity in the two regions points to the resemblance in basic aerosol sources which are closely related to properties of aerosol particles. However the aerosol amount and properties change noticeably from year to year and from region to region. The analysis of seasonal aerosol optical thickness variations over the urban sites in the eastern and western parts of Ukraine according to both ground-based and POLDER data exhibits the same traits. In particular, over Kyiv, the values of the Angstrom exponent are lower in April of 2011 than in 2009 and 2010, while aerosol optical thickness values are almost the same, which can be explained by an increase in the amount of coarse mode particles in the atmosphere, such as Saharan dust. Moreover, the coarse mode particles prevailed over suburbs and the center of Kyiv during a third of all available days of observation in 2012. In general, the fine and coarse mode particles' modal radii averaged over 2008–2012 range from 0.1 to 0.2 μm and 2 to 5 μm, respectively, during the period from April to September. The single scattering albedo and refractive index values of these particles correspond to a mix of urban-industrial, biomass burning, and dust aerosols. In addition, strongly absorbing particles were observed in the period from October to March, and the modal radius of fine and coarse mode particles changed from month to month widely.