In situ study of aerosol characteristics over the Arabian sea and the Indian Ocean of relevance to correction of satellite remote sensed data Original Research Article

Aerosol optical depth in five spectral bands from 400 to 1050-nm using a sun-photometer and aerosol mass concentration in ten size ranges from 0.05 to 25 μm diameter using a sensitive quartz crystal cascade impactor system are measured in five ship cruises over the Arabian sea and the Indian Ocean during the winter months in 1996 and 1997. The results show high values of aerosol concentration with systematic latitude gradient produced mainly by the sub-micron particles of size less than about 0.2 μm.