Raman lidar profiling of water vapor and aerosols over the Southern Great Plains

AbstractHigh temporal and vertical resolution water vapor measurements by Raman and differential absorption lidar systems have been used to characterize the turbulent fluctuations in the water vapor mixing ratio field in convective mixed layers. Since daytime Raman lidar measurements are inherently noisy (due to solar background and weak signal strengths), the analysis approach needs to quantify and remove the contribution of the instrument noise in order to derive the desired atmospheric water vapor mixing ratio variance and skewness profiles. This is done using the approach outlined by Lenschow et al.; however, an intercomparison with in situ observations was not performed.Water vapor measurements were made by a diode laser hygrometer flown on a Twin Otter aircraft during the Routine Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Aerial Facility Clouds with Low Optical Water Depths Optical Radiative Observations (RACORO) field campaign over the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in 2009. Two days with Twin Otter flights were identified where the convective mixed layer was quasi stationary, and hence the 10-s, 75-m data from the SGP Raman lidar could be analyzed to provide profiles of water vapor mixing ratio variance and skewness. Airborne water vapor observations measured during level flight legs were compared to the Raman lidar data, demonstrating good agreement in both variance and skewness. The results also illustrate the challenges of comparing a point sensor making measurements over time to a moving platform making similar measurements horizontally.

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Evaluation of daytime measurements of aerosols and water vapor made by an operational Raman lidar over the Southern Great Plains

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ◽

10.1029/2005jd005836 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 111 (D5) ◽

Cited By ~ 62

Author(s):

Richard Ferrare ◽

David Turner ◽

Marian Clayton ◽

Beat Schmid ◽

Jens Redemann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

Great Plains ◽

Raman Lidar ◽

Southern Great Plains

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Carbon dioxide and water vapor fluxes of multi-purpose winter wheat production systems in the U.S. Southern Great Plains

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology ◽

10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108631 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 310 ◽

pp. 108631

Author(s):

Pradeep Wagle ◽

Prasanna H. Gowda ◽

Brian K. Northup ◽

James P.S. Neel ◽

Patrick J. Starks ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Water Vapor ◽

Winter Wheat ◽

Great Plains ◽

Production Systems ◽

Wheat Production ◽

Southern Great Plains ◽

The U.S

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Ground-based temperature and humidity profiling: combining active and passive remote sensors

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ◽

10.5194/amt-14-3033-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 3033-3048

Author(s):

David D. Turner ◽

Ulrich Löhnert

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

Information Content ◽

Great Plains ◽

Optimal Estimation ◽

Differential Absorption ◽

Southern Great Plains ◽

Atmospheric Research ◽

Remote Sensors ◽

Central Portugal ◽

Atmospheric Radiation Measurement

Abstract. Thermodynamic profiles in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) are important observations for a range of atmospheric research and operational needs. These profiles can be retrieved from passively sensed spectral infrared (IR) or microwave (MW) radiance observations or can be more directly measured by active remote sensors such as water vapor differential absorption lidars (DIALs). This paper explores the synergy of combining ground-based IR, MW, and DIAL observations using an optimal-estimation retrieval framework, quantifying the reduction in the uncertainty in the retrieved profiles and the increase in information content as additional observations are added to IR-only and MW-only retrievals. This study uses ground-based observations collected during the Perdigão field campaign in central Portugal in 2017 and during the DIAL demonstration campaign at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site in 2017. The results show that the information content in both temperature and water vapor is higher for the IR instrument relative to the MW instrument (thereby resulting in smaller uncertainties) and that the combined IR + MW retrieval is very similar to the IR-only retrieval below 1.5 km. However, including the partial profile of water vapor observed by the DIAL increases the information content in the combined IR + DIAL and MW + DIAL water vapor retrievals substantially, with the exact impact vertically depending on the characteristics of the DIAL instrument itself. Furthermore, there is a slight increase in the information content in the retrieved temperature profile using the IR + DIAL relative to the IR-only; this was not observed in the MW + DIAL retrieval.

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Raman lidar measurements of the aerosol extinction-to-backscatter ratio over the Southern Great Plains

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ◽

10.1029/2000jd000144 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 106 (D17) ◽

pp. 20333-20347 ◽

Cited By ~ 71

Author(s):

Richard A. Ferrare ◽

David D. Turner ◽

Lorraine Heilman Brasseur ◽

Wayne F. Feltz ◽

Oleg Dubovik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Great Plains ◽

Aerosol Extinction ◽

Raman Lidar ◽

Southern Great Plains ◽

Lidar Measurements

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Measurements of integrated water vapor and cloud liquid water from microwave radiometers at the DOE ARM Cloud and Radiation Testbed in the U.S. southern Great Plains

IGARSS '96. 1996 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium ◽

10.1109/igarss.1996.516767 ◽

2005 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

J.C. Liljegren ◽

B.M. Lesht

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

Great Plains ◽

Liquid Water ◽

Cloud Liquid Water ◽

Southern Great Plains ◽

Microwave Radiometers ◽

The U.S

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Ground-based Temperature and Humidity Profiling: Combining Active and Passive Remote Sensors

10.5194/amt-2020-352 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

David D. Turner ◽

Ulrich Löhnert

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

Information Content ◽

Great Plains ◽

Optimal Estimation ◽

Differential Absorption ◽

Southern Great Plains ◽

Atmospheric Research ◽

Remote Sensors ◽

Central Portugal ◽

Atmospheric Radiation Measurement

Abstract. Thermodynamic profiles in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) are important observations for a range of atmospheric research and operational needs. These profiles can be retrieved from passively sensed spectral infrared (IR) or microwave (MW) radiance observations, or can be more directly measured by active remote sensors such as water vapor differential absorption lidars (DIALs). This paper explores the synergy of combining ground-based IR, MW, and DIAL observations using an optimal estimation retrieval framework, quantifying the reduction in the uncertainty in the retrieved profiles and the increase in information content as additional observations are added to IR-only and MW-only retrievals. This study uses ground-based observations collected during the Perdigao field campaign in central Portugal in 2017 and during the DIAL demonstration campaign at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site in 2017. The results show that the information content in both temperature and water vapor is higher for IR instrument relative to the MW instrument (thereby resulting in smaller uncertainties), and that the combined IR+MW retrieval is very similar to the IR-only retrieval below 1.5 km. However, including the partial profile of water vapor observed by the DIAL increases the information content in the combined IR+DIAL and MW+DIAL water vapor retrievals substantially, with the exact impact vertically depending on the characteristics of the DIAL instrument itself. Furthermore, there is slight increase in the information content in the retrieved temperature profile using the IR+DIAL relative to the IR-only; this was not observed in the MW+DIAL retrieval.

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Carbon monoxide mixing ratios over Oklahoma between 2002 and 2009 retrieved from Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer spectra

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ◽

10.5194/amt-3-1319-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 3 (5) ◽

pp. 1319-1331 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

L. Yurganov ◽

W. McMillan ◽

C. Wilson ◽

M. Fischer ◽

S. Biraud ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

Great Plains ◽

Microwave Radiometer ◽

Precipitable Water ◽

Retrieval Algorithm ◽

Southern Great Plains ◽

Diurnal Cycles ◽

Mixing Ratios ◽

Clear Sky ◽

The Tropics

Abstract. CO mixing ratios for the lowermost 2-km atmospheric layer were retrieved from downwelling infrared (IR) radiance spectra of the clear sky measured between 2002 and 2009 by a zenith-viewing Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) deployed at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) observatory of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM) Program near Lamont, Oklahoma. A version of a published earlier retrieval algorithm was improved and validated. Archived temperature and water vapor profiles retrieved from the same AERI spectra through automated ARM processing were used as input data for the CO retrievals. We found the archived water vapor profiles required additional constraint using SGP Microwave Radiometer retrievals of total precipitable water vapor. A correction for scattered solar light was developed as well. The retrieved CO was validated using simultaneous independently measured CO profiles from an aircraft. These tropospheric CO profiles were measured from the surface to altitudes of 4572 m a.s.l. once or twice a week between March 2006 and December 2008. The aircraft measurements were supplemented with ground-based CO measurements using a non-dispersive infrared gas correlation instrument at the SGP and retrievals from the Atmospheric IR Sounder (AIRS) above 5 km to create full tropospheric CO profiles. Comparison of the profiles convolved with averaging kernels to the AERI CO retrievals found a squared correlation coefficient of 0.57, a standard deviation of ±11.7 ppbv, a bias of -16 ppbv, and a slope of 0.92. Averaged seasonal and diurnal cycles measured by the AERI are compared with those measured continuously in situ at the SGP in the boundary layer. Monthly mean CO values measured by the AERI between 2002 and 2009 are compared with those measured by the AIRS over North America, the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, and over the tropics.

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