scholarly journals One year of CNR-IMAA multi-wavelength Raman lidar measurements in coincidence with CALIPSO overpasses: Level 1 products comparison

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (18) ◽  
pp. 7213-7228 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Mona ◽  
G. Pappalardo ◽  
A. Amodeo ◽  
G. D'Amico ◽  
F. Madonna ◽  
...  

Abstract. At CNR-IMAA, an aerosol lidar system has operated since May 2000 in the framework of EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network), the first lidar network for tropospheric aerosol study on a continental scale. High quality multi-wavelength measurements make this system a reference point for the validation of data products provided by CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations), the first satellite-borne lidar specifically designed for aerosol and cloud study. Since 14 June 2006, dedicated measurements have been performed at CNR-IMAA in coincidence with CALIPSO overpasses. For the first time, results on 1-year comparisons between ground-based multi-wavelength Raman lidar measurements and corresponding CALIPSO lidar Level 1 profiles are presented. A methodology for the comparison is presented and discussed in detail. Night-time cases are considered to take advantage from Raman capability of the ground based lidar. Cases with the detection of cirrus clouds in CALIPSO data are separately analysed for taking into account multiple scattering effects. For cirrus cloud cases, few cases are available to draw any conclusions. For clear sky conditions, the comparison shows good performances of the CALIPSO on-board lidar: the mean relative difference between the ground-based and CALIPSO Level 1 measurements is always within its standard deviation at all altitudes, with a mean difference in the 3–8 km altitude range of (−2±12)%. At altitude ranges corresponding to the typical PBL height observed at CNR-IMAA, a mean difference of (−24±20)% is observed in CALIPSO data, probably due to the difference in the aerosol content at the location of PEARL and CALIPSO ground-track location. Finally, the mean differences are on average lower at all altitude ranges for the closest overpasses (at about 40 km) respect to the 80-km overpasses.

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 8429-8468 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Mona ◽  
G. Pappalardo ◽  
A. Amodeo ◽  
G. D'Amico ◽  
F. Madonna ◽  
...  

Abstract. At CNR-IMAA, an aerosol lidar system is operative since May 2000 in the framework of EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network), the first lidar network for tropospheric aerosol study on continental scale. High quality multi-wavelength measurements make this system a reference point for the validation of data products provided by CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations), the first satellite-borne lidar specifically designed for aerosol and cloud study. Since 14 June 2006, devoted measurements are performed at CNR-IMAA in coincidence of CALIPSO overpasses. For the first time, results on 1-year comparisons between ground-based multi-wavelength Raman lidar measurements and corresponding CALIPSO lidar Level 1 profiles are presented. A methodology for the comparison is presented and discussed into details. Cases with the detection of cirrus clouds in CALIPSO data are separately analysed for taking into account eventual multiple scattering effects. For cirrus cloud cases, few cases are available to draw any conclusions. For clear sky conditions, the comparison shows good performances of the CALIPSO on-board lidar: the mean relative difference between the ground-based and CALIPSO Level 1 measurements is always within its standard deviation at all altitudes, with a mean difference in the 3–8 km altitude range of (−2±12)%. At altitude ranges corresponding to the typical PBL height observed at CNR-IMAA, a mean underestimation of (−24±20)% is observed in CALIPSO data, probably due to the difference in the aerosol content at the location of PEARL and CALIPSO ground-track location. Finally, the mean differences are on average lower for the closest overpasses (at about 40 km), with an increment of the differences at all altitude ranges when the 80 km overpasses are considered.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 561-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Mamouri ◽  
V. Amiridis ◽  
A. Papayannis ◽  
E. Giannakaki ◽  
G. Tsaknakis ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present initial aerosol validation results of the space-borne lidar CALIOP retrievals -onboard the CALIPSO satellite-, using coincident observations performed with a ground-based lidar in Athens, Greece (37.9° N, 23.6° E). A multi-wavelength ground-based backscatter/Raman lidar system is operating since 2000 at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in the framework of the European Aerosol Research LIdar NETwork (EARLINET), the first lidar network for tropospheric aerosol studies on a continental scale. Since July 2006, a total of 40 coincidental aerosol ground-based lidar measurements were performed over Athens during CALIPSO overpasses. The duration of the ground-based lidar measurements was approximately two hours, centred on the satellite overpass time. From the statistical analysis of the ground-based/satellite correlative lidar measurements, a mean bias of the order of 22% for daytime measurements and of 8% for nighttime measurements with respect to the CALIPSO profiles was found for altitudes between 3 and 10 km. The mean bias becomes much larger for altitudes lower that 3 km (of the order of 60%) which is attributed to the decrease of the CALIOP signal-to-noise ratio, as well as to the incomplete overlap height region of the ground based lidar and finally to the distance between the two instruments, resulting to the observation of possibly different air masses. In cases of aerosols layers underlying cirrus clouds, comparison results for aerosol tropospheric profiles become worst, illustrating the limitations of space-borne downward-looking lidar measurements due to strong signal attenuations.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 513-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Mamouri ◽  
V. Amiridis ◽  
A. Papayannis ◽  
E. Giannakaki ◽  
G. Tsaknakis ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present initial aerosol validation results of the space-borne lidar CALIOP -onboard the CALIPSO satellite- Level 1 attenuated backscatter coefficient profiles, using coincident observations performed with a ground-based lidar in Athens, Greece (37.9° N, 23.6° E). A multi-wavelength ground-based backscatter/Raman lidar system is operating since 2000 at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in the framework of the European Aerosol Research LIdar NETwork (EARLINET), the first lidar network for tropospheric aerosol studies on a continental scale. Since July 2006, a total of 40 coincidental aerosol ground-based lidar measurements were performed over Athens during CALIPSO overpasses. The ground-based measurements were performed each time CALIPSO overpasses the station location within a maximum distance of 100 km. The duration of the ground–based lidar measurements was approximately two hours, centred on the satellite overpass time. From the analysis of the ground-based/satellite correlative lidar measurements, a mean bias of the order of 22% for daytime measurements and of 8% for nighttime measurements with respect to the CALIPSO profiles was found for altitudes between 3 and 10 km. The mean bias becomes much larger for altitudes lower that 3 km (of the order of 60%) which is attributed to the increase of aerosol horizontal inhomogeneity within the Planetary Boundary Layer, resulting to the observation of possibly different air masses by the two instruments. In cases of aerosol layers underlying Cirrus clouds, comparison results for aerosol tropospheric profiles become worse. This is attributed to the significant multiple scattering effects in Cirrus clouds experienced by CALIPSO which result in an attenuation which is less than that measured by the ground-based lidar.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1201-1211 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Navas-Guzmán ◽  
J. Fernández-Gálvez ◽  
M. J. Granados-Muñoz ◽  
J. L. Guerrero-Rascado ◽  
J. A. Bravo-Aranda ◽  
...  

Abstract. In this paper, we outline an iterative method to calibrate the water vapour mixing ratio profiles retrieved from Raman lidar measurements. Simultaneous and co-located radiosonde data are used for this purpose and the calibration results obtained during a radiosonde campaign in summer and autumn 2011 are presented. The water vapour profiles measured during night-time by the Raman lidar and radiosondes are compared and the differences between the methodologies are discussed. Then, a new approach to obtain relative humidity profiles by combination of simultaneous profiles of temperature (retrieved from a microwave radiometer) and water vapour mixing ratio (from a Raman lidar) is addressed. In the last part of this work, a statistical analysis of water vapour mixing ratio and relative humidity profiles obtained during 1 year of simultaneous measurements is presented.


2018 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 05055 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Samoilova ◽  
M. Sviridenkov ◽  
I. Penner ◽  
G. Kokhanenko ◽  
Yu. Balin

Regular lidar measurements of the vertical distribution of aerosol optical parameters are carried out in Tomsk (56°N, 85°E) since April, 2011. We present the results of retrieval of microphysical characteristics from the data of measurements by means of Raman lidar in 2013. Section 2 is devoted to the theoretical aspects of retrieving the particle size distribution function U(r) (SDF) assuming a known complex refractive index m (CRI). It is shown that the coarse fraction cannot be retrieved unambiguously. When estimating U(r) and m together (section 3), the retrieved refractive index is non-linearly related to the optical coefficients and the distribution function, which leads to appearance of different, including false values of m. The corresponding U(r) differs only slightly, so the inaccuracy in m does not essentially affect the retrieval of the distribution function.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (22) ◽  
pp. 8799-8811 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Di Girolamo ◽  
D. Summa ◽  
R.-F. Lin ◽  
T. Maestri ◽  
R. Rizzi ◽  
...  

Abstract. Raman lidar measurements performed in Potenza by the Raman lidar system BASIL in the presence of cirrus clouds are discussed. Measurements were performed on 6 September 2004 in the frame of the Italian phase of the EAQUATE Experiment. The major feature of BASIL is represented by its capability to perform high-resolution and accurate measurements of atmospheric temperature and water vapour, and consequently relative humidity, both in daytime and night-time, based on the application of the rotational and vibrational Raman lidar techniques in the UV. BASIL is also capable to provide measurements of the particle backscatter and extinction coefficient, and consequently lidar ratio (at the time of these measurements, only at one wavelength), which are fundamental to infer geometrical and microphysical properties of clouds. A case study is discussed in order to assess the capability of Raman lidars to measure humidity in presence of cirrus clouds, both below and inside the cloud. While air inside the cloud layers is observed to be always under-saturated with respect to water, both ice super-saturation and under-saturation conditions are found inside these clouds. Upper tropospheric moistening is observed below the lower cloud layer. The synergic use of the data derived from the ground based Raman Lidar and of spectral radiances measured by the NAST-I Airborne Spectrometer allows the determination of the temporal evolution of the atmospheric cooling/heating rates due to the presence of the cirrus cloud. Lidar measurements beneath the cirrus cloud layer have been interpreted using a 1-D cirrus cloud model with explicit microphysics. The 1-D simulations indicate that sedimentation-moistening has contributed significantly to the moist anomaly, but other mechanisms are also contributing. This result supports the hypothesis that the observed mid-tropospheric humidification is a real feature which is strongly influenced by the sublimation of precipitating ice crystals. Results illustrated in this study demonstrate that Raman lidars, like the one used in this study, can resolve the spatial and temporal scales required for the study of cirrus cloud microphysical processes and appear sensitive enough to reveal and quantify upper tropospheric humidification associated with cirrus cloud sublimation.


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 124
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Klekociuk ◽  
David J. Ottaway ◽  
Andrew D. MacKinnon ◽  
Iain M. Reid ◽  
Liam V. Twigger ◽  
...  

The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile (41.3° S, 72.6° W) underwent three separate eruptions on 22–23 April 2015. Following the eruptions, distinct layers of enhanced lidar backscatter at 532 nm were observed in the lower stratosphere above Buckland Park, South Australia (34.6° S, 138.5° E), and Kingston, Tasmania (43.0° S, 147.3° E), during a small set of observations in April–May 2015. Using atmospheric trajectory modelling and measurements from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) space-borne lidar and the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS) instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite, we show that these layers were associated with the Calbuco eruptions. Buckland Park measurements on 30 April and 3 May detected discrete aerosol layers at and slightly above the tropopause, where the relative humidity was well below saturation. Stratospheric aerosol layers likely associated with the eruptions were observed at Kingston on 17 and 22 May in narrow discrete layers accompanied by weaker and more vertically extended backscatter. The measurements on 22 May provided a mean value of the particle linear depolarisation ratio within the main observed volcanic aerosol layer of 18.0 ± 3.0%, which was consistent with contemporaneous CALIOP measurements. The depolarisation measurements indicated that this layer consisted of a filament dominated by ash backscatter residing above a main region having likely more sulfate backscatter. Layer-average optical depths were estimated from the measurements. The mean lidar ratio for the volcanic aerosols on 22 May of 86 ± 37 sr is consistent with but generally higher than the mean for ground-based measurements for other volcanic events. The inferred optical depth for the main volcanic layer on 17 May was consistent with a value obtained from OMPS measurements, but a large difference on 22 May likely reflected the spatial inhomogeneity of the volcanic plume. Short-lived enhancements of backscatter near the tropopause of 17 May likely represented the formation cirrus that was aided by the presence of associated volcanic aerosols. We also provide evidence that gravity waves potentially influenced the layers, particularly in regard to the vertical motion observed in the strong layer on 22 May. Overall, these observations provide additional information on the dispersal and characteristics of the Calbuco aerosol plumes at higher southern latitudes than previously reported for ground-based lidar measurements.


2018 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 04002
Author(s):  
Simone Lolli ◽  
Paolo Di Girolamo ◽  
Belay Demoz ◽  
Xiaowen Li ◽  
Ellsworth J. Welton

Rain evaporation significantly contributes to moisture and heat cloud budgets. In this paper, we illustrate an approach to estimate the median volume raindrop diameter and the rain evaporation rate profiles from dual-wavelength lidar measurements. These observational results are compared with those provided by a model analytical solution. We made use of measurements from the multi-wavelength Raman lidar BASIL.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 2207-2223 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Madonna ◽  
F. Amato ◽  
J. Vande Hey ◽  
G. Pappalardo

Abstract. Despite their differences from more advanced and more powerful lidars, the low construction and operation cost of ceilometers (originally designed for cloud base height monitoring) has fostered their use for the quantitative study of aerosol properties. The large number of ceilometers available worldwide represents a strong motivation to investigate both the extent to which they can be used to fill in the geographical gaps between advanced lidar stations and also how their continuous data flow can be linked to existing networks of the more advanced lidars, like EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network). In this paper, multi-wavelength Raman lidar measurements are used to investigate the capability of ceilometers to provide reliable information about atmospheric aerosol properties through the INTERACT (INTERcomparison of Aerosol and Cloud Tracking) campaign carried out at the CNR-IMAA Atmospheric Observatory (760 m a.s.l., 40.60° N, 15.72° E), in the framework of the ACTRIS (Aerosol Clouds Trace gases Research InfraStructure) FP7 project. This work is the first time that three different commercial ceilometers with an advanced Raman lidar are compared over a period of 6 months. The comparison of the attenuated backscatter coefficient profiles from a multi-wavelength Raman lidar and three ceilometers (CHM15k, CS135s, CT25K) reveals differences due to the expected discrepancy in the signal to noise ratio (SNR) but also due to changes in the ambient temperature on the short and mid-term stability of ceilometer calibration. Therefore, technological improvements are needed to move ceilometers towards operational use in the monitoring of atmospheric aerosols in the low and free troposphere.


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