Diurnal variability of aerosol optical depth and fine aerosol concentration (PM2.5) according to measurements in the Middle Urals

Based on data of 3-year (2016-2018) measurements in the Middle Urals, we investigated the diurnal variability in aerosol characteristics: atmospheric aerosol optical depth (τ0.5) and concentrations of fine aerosol (PM2.5) in the surface layer of the atmosphere at urban and background sites in the Middle Urals. Also, as a part of this study, we estimated the relation between τ0.5 and PM2.5. The linear regression functions of the hourly PM2.5 concentration and τ0.5 were PM2.5 = 2.83 × τ0.5 + 20.35 (R=0.46) and PM2.5 = 1.8 × τ0.5 + 15.87 (R=0.31) for urban and background sites, respectively. In addition, the results also demonstrated significant differences in correlation for different time window during the day.