Study of aerosol optical depth climatology using modis remote sensing data

Abstract

The temporal variations of the aerosols and their relations with the meteorological conditions in the center of Brazil were studied to understand their interactions with meteorological parameters. Dissimilar cyclical variations are observed due to the trends of the annual cycle: first decreasing and then increasing. Principal component analysis (PCA) may imply the reasons for different characteristics of the temporal variations of the Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) and also confirm that their distributions are influenced by complex interactions between different meteorological factors. The average AOT during the selected period has been positively correlated with the thermal and pollutant variables, but negatively correlated with the humid variables.