DESCRIPTION AND COMPARISON OF AEROSOL PROPERTIES OVER CLUJ-NAPOCA - ROMANIA AND KOFORIDUA – GHANA, USING AERONET NETWORK DATA

Abstract

This article presents a description and a comparative study of the optical and microphysical properties of aerosols measured above Cluj-Napoca city in Romania and above Koforidua city in Ghana. Atmospheric aerosols have a major impact on climate and our health. We analyzed the Aerosol Optical Thickness at 440 nm (AOT), the Ångström parameter (α 440 – 870 nm), the fine and coarse volume concentrations and the single scattering albedo, in order to describe the aerosol properties at these 2 stations. We used daily averages which are calculated for every day when the available number of measurements is higher than 3. At CLUJ_UBB station, the Aerosol Optical Thickness at 440 nm wavelength has values between 0.031 and 0.699, with an average of 0.229 ± 0.11. At Koforidua_ANUC station, the AOT440 has values between 0.106 and 2.580, with an average of 0.742 ± 0.50, much higher than the values measured at CLUJ_UBB. The aerosol at the two locations has different properties, at Cluj-Napoca the urban industrial type is predominant while at Koforidua the predominant type is mineral dust.