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In this work, spatial and temporal variations of aerosols parameters namely AOD, AI and AE were investigated with spatial resolution of 1° x 1° over Iraq (28.5°-38.5°N, 38.5°- 48.25°E); data have been retrieved from January 2008 to December 2017 by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) were analyzed which can lead to modifications in the microphysics of clouds as well. The highest values for AOD and AI were observed in summer and spring, by contrast, minimum AOD and AI values were found in winter and autumn, while the highest values of AE were recorded in winter and autumn and the lower values were found in summer and spring. Furthermore, the relationships between AOD, AE and five cloud parameters, namely, cloud fraction (CF), water vapor (WV), cloud optical thickness (COT), cloud effective radius (CER), and precipitation (PPT) have been investigated by employing spatial correlation maps for their data values. The analysis showed a strong negative correlation between AOD and AE particularly in the western region (Rutba). AOD showed a negative relationship with COT in the whole of Iraq. AOD and CER presented a positive relation along the arid desert region extended from west northern region to the west southern region passing through the western region of Iraq. The correlation between AOD and CF showed a negative correlation (- -0.5). The correlation between AOD and WV was positive (- 0.7) especially in the stripe joint between the middle and the northern region. The relationship between AOD and PPT showed a negative correlation over whole of Iraq. The correlation results between AE and cloud parameter were opposite to that between AOD and cloud parameter except CER was the same correlation result for both. The correlations between AI and cloud parameters were also investigated. In present study, cluster analysis on 7-day isentropic air mass backward trajectories has been used for the all days of the year employing HYSPLIT model. Cluster analysis determines the air mass source regions, which were reached the different selected cities (Mosul, Baghdad, Rutba, Al-Nukhib, Nasiriyah and Basrah).
Salman et al. (Wed,) studied this question.