Experimental study of remote sensing of atmospheric aerosol size distribution by combined solar extinction and forward scattering method

The comparison of the angular light-scattering method (ALSM) and the spectral extinction method (SEM) in solving the inverse problem of aerosol size distribution (ASD) are studied. The inverse problem is solved by a SPSO-DE hybrid algorithm, which is based on the stochastic particle swarm optimization (SPSO) algorithm and differential evolution (DE) algorithm. To improve the retrieval accuracy, the sensitivity analysis of measurement signals to characteristic parameters in ASDs is studied; and the corresponding optimal measurement angle selection region for ALSM and optimal measurement wavelength selection region for SEM are proposed, respectively. Results show that more satisfactory convergence properties can be obtained by using the SPSO-DE hybrid algorithm. Moreover, short measurement wavelengths and forward measurement angles are beneficial to obtaining more accurate results. Then, common monomodal and bimodal ASDs are estimated under different random measurement errors by using ALSM and SEM, respectively. Numerical tests show that retrieval results by using ALSM show better convergence accuracy and robustness than those by using SEM, which is attributed to the distribution of the objective function value. As a whole, considering the convergence properties and the independence on prior optical information, the ALSM combined with SPSO-DE hybrid algorithm provides a more effective and reliable technique to obtain the ASDs.

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Temporal variation of atmospheric aerosol size distribution at a tropical station, Mysore (12 N) from ground based sunphotometer studies

10.1063/1.1361980 ◽

2000 ◽

Author(s):

B. S. N. Prasad

Keyword(s):

Temporal Variation ◽

Size Distribution ◽

Atmospheric Aerosol ◽

Aerosol Size Distribution ◽

Tropical Station

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The behaviour of the atmospheric aerosol size distribution during smog situations in West Berlin

Journal of Aerosol Science ◽

10.1016/0021-8502(81)90081-1 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 172-173

Author(s):

B. Heits ◽

G.W. Israel

Keyword(s):

Size Distribution ◽

Atmospheric Aerosol ◽

Aerosol Size Distribution ◽

West Berlin

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Technical Note: A new SIze REsolved Aerosol Model (SIREAM)

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-6-11845-2006 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 6 (6) ◽

pp. 11845-11875 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

E. Debry ◽

K. Fahey ◽

K. Sartelet ◽

B. Sportisse ◽

M. Tombette

Keyword(s):

Size Distribution ◽

Atmospheric Aerosol ◽

Transport Model ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Technical Note ◽

Aerosol Size Distribution ◽

Short Paper ◽

Chemistry Transport Model ◽

Aerosol Model ◽

General Dynamic

Abstract. We briefly present in this short paper a new SIze REsolved Aerosol Model (SIREAM) which simulates the evolution of atmospheric aerosol by solving the General Dynamic Equation (GDE). SIREAM segregates the aerosol size distribution into sections and solves the GDE by splitting coagulation and condensation/evaporation. A moving sectional approach is used to describe the size distribution change due to condensation/evaporation and a hybrid method has been developed to lower the computational burden. SIREAM uses the same physical parameterizations as those used in the Modal Aerosol Model, MAM sartelet05development. It is hosted in the modeling system POLYPHEMUS (Mallet et al., 2006) but can be linked to any other three-dimensional Chemistry-Transport Model.

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Synergistic use of Lagrangian dispersion and radiative transfer modelling with satellite and surface remote sensing measurements for the investigation of volcanic plumes: the Mount Etna eruption of 25–27 October 2013

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-6841-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (11) ◽

pp. 6841-6861 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Pasquale Sellitto ◽

Alcide di Sarra ◽

Stefano Corradini ◽

Marie Boichu ◽

Hervé Herbin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Size Distribution ◽

Volcanic Eruption ◽

Radiative Forcing ◽

Mount Etna ◽

Aerosol Size Distribution ◽

Volcanic Plume ◽

Data Set ◽

Lagrangian Dispersion ◽

The Impact

Abstract. In this paper we combine SO2 and ash plume dispersion modelling with satellite and surface remote sensing observations to study the regional influence of a relatively weak volcanic eruption from Mount Etna on the optical and micro-physical properties of Mediterranean aerosols. We analyse the Mount Etna eruption episode of 25–27 October 2013. The evolution of the plume along the trajectory is investigated by means of the FLEXible PARTicle Lagrangian dispersion (FLEXPART) model. The satellite data set includes true colour images, retrieved values of volcanic SO2 and ash, estimates of SO2 and ash emission rates derived from MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) observations and estimates of cloud top pressure from SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager). Surface remote sensing measurements of aerosol and SO2 made at the ENEA Station for Climate Observations (35.52° N, 12.63° E; 50 m a.s.l.) on the island of Lampedusa are used in the analysis. The combination of these different data sets suggests that SO2 and ash, despite the initial injection at about 7.0 km altitude, reached altitudes around 10–12 km and influenced the column average aerosol particle size distribution at a distance of more than 350 km downwind. This study indicates that even a relatively weak volcanic eruption may produce an observable effect on the aerosol properties at the regional scale. The impact of secondary sulfate particles on the aerosol size distribution at Lampedusa is discussed and estimates of the clear-sky direct aerosol radiative forcing are derived. Daily shortwave radiative forcing efficiencies, i.e. radiative forcing per unit AOD (aerosol optical depth), are calculated with the LibRadtran model. They are estimated between −39 and −48 W m−2 AOD−1 at the top of the atmosphere and between −66 and −49 W m−2 AOD−1 at the surface, with the variability in the estimates mainly depending on the aerosol single scattering albedo. These results suggest that sulfate particles played a large role in the transported plume composition and radiative forcing, while the contribution by ash particles was small in the volcanic plume arriving at Lampedusa during this event.

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