What factors control the trend of increasing AAOD over the United States in the last decade

We examine the spatial and temporal trends of absorbing aerosol optical depth (AAOD) in the last decade over the United States (US) observed by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Monthly average OMI AAOD has increased over broad areas of the central US from 2005 to 2015, by up to a factor of four in some grid cells (~60 km resolution). The AAOD increases in all seasons, although the percentage increases are larger in summer (JJA) than winter (DJF) by a factor of three. Despite enhancements in AAOD, OMI AOD exhibits insignificant trend over most of the US except parts of the central and western US, the latter which may partly be due to decreases in precipitation. Trends in AAOD contrast with declining trends in surface concentrations of black carbon (BC) aerosol. Interannual variability of local biomass burning emissions of BC may contribute to the positive trend in AAOD over the Western US. Changes in both dust aerosol measured at the surface (in terms of concentration and size) and dust AAOD indicate distinct enhancements, especially over the central US by 50-100%, which appears to be one of the major factors that impacts positive trends in AAOD.