Retrievals of aerosol optical depth and Angström exponent from ground-based Sun-photometer data of Singapore

The role of aerosols in climate and climate change is one of the factors that is least understood at the present. Aerosols' direct interaction with solar radiation is a well understood mechanism that affects Earth's net radiative forcing. However, quantifying its magnitude is more problematic because of the temporal and spatial variability of aerosol particles. To enhance our understanding of the radiative effects of aerosols on the global climate, Singapore has joined the AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) worldwide network by contributing ground-based direct Sun measurements performed by means of a multiwavelength Sun-photometer instrument. Data are collected on an hourly basis, then are uploaded to be fully screened and quality assured by AERONET. We use a one year data record (level 1.5/2.0) of measured columnar atmospheric optical depth, spanning from November 2006 to October 2007, to study the monthly and seasonal variability of the aerosol optical depth and the Angström exponent. We performed independent retrievals of these parameters (aerosol optical depth and Angström exponent) by using the photometer's six available bands covering the near-UV to near-IR (380-1080 nm). As a validation, our independent retrievals were compared with AERONET 1.5/2.0 level direct Sun product.