scholarly journals Aerosol absorption retrieval at ultraviolet wavelengths in a complex environment

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stelios Kazadzis ◽  
Panagiotis Ι. Raptis ◽  
Natalia Kouremeti ◽  
Vassilis Amiridis ◽  
Antti Arola ◽  
...  

Abstract. We have used total and diffuse UV irradiance measurements with a multi-filter rotating shadow-band radiometer (UVMFR), in order to calculate aerosol absorption properties (Single Scattering Albedo – SSA) in the UV range, for a 5 years period in Athens, Greece. Τhis data set was used as input to a radiative transfer model and the SSA for 368 nm and 332 nm has been calculated. Retrievals from a collocated CIMEL sun-photometer were used to validate the products and study absorption spectral behavior SSA values at these wavelengths. UVMFR SSA together with synchronous,CIMEL-derived, retrievals at 440 nm, show a mean of 0.90, 0.87 and 0.83, with lowest values (higher absorption) towards lower wavelengths. In addition, noticeable diurnal variations of the SSA in all wavelengths are revealed, with amplitudes in up to 0.05. High SSA wavelength dependence is found for cases of low Ångström exponents and also an SSA decrease with decreasing extinction optical depth, suggesting an effect of the different aerosol composition. Dust and Brown Carbon UV absorbing properties were investigated to understand seasonal variability of the results.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 5997-6011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stelios Kazadzis ◽  
Panagiotis Raptis ◽  
Natalia Kouremeti ◽  
Vassilis Amiridis ◽  
Antti Arola ◽  
...  

Abstract. We have used total and diffuse UV irradiance measurements from a multi-filter rotating shadow-band radiometer (UVMFR) in order to investigate aerosol absorption in the UV range for a 5-year period in Athens, Greece. This dataset was used as input to a radiative transfer model and the single scattering albedo (SSA) at 368 and 332 nm was calculated. Retrievals from a collocated CIMEL sun photometer were used to evaluate the products and study the absorption spectral behavior of retrieved SSA values. The UVMFR SSA, together with synchronous, CIMEL-derived retrievals of SSA at 440 nm, had a mean of 0.90, 0.87 and 0.83, with lowest values (higher absorption) encountered at the shorter wavelengths. In addition, noticeable diurnal variation of the SSA in all wavelengths is shown, with amplitudes up to 0.05. Strong SSA wavelength dependence is revealed for cases of low Ångström exponents, accompanied by a SSA decrease with decreasing extinction optical depth, suggesting varying influence under different aerosol composition. However, part of this dependence for low aerosol optical depths is masked by the enhanced SSA retrieval uncertainty. Dust and brown carbon UV absorbing properties were also investigated to explain seasonal patterns.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 6991-7023 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kazadzis ◽  
N. Kouremeti ◽  
V. Amiridis ◽  
A. Arola ◽  
E. Gerasopoulos

Abstract. We have combined sun and sky radiance measurements from a CIMEL sun-photometer and total and diffuse UV irradiance measurements with a multi-filter rotating shadow-band radiometer (UVMFR), in order to calculate aerosol absorption properties (single scattering albedo) in the UV range, for a 10 month period in Athens, Greece. The aerosol extinction optical thickness measured by the CIMEL instrument has been used for the inter-calibration of the UVMFR. The measurements from both instruments were used as input to a radiative transfer model and the single scattering albedo (SSA) for 368 nm and 332 nm has been calculated. The SSA values at these wavelengths, together with synchronous SSA, CIMEL-derived, retrievals at 440 nm, show a mean of 0.88, 0.86 and 0.80, with lowest values (higher absorption) towards lower wavelengths. In addition, noticeable diurnal variations of the SSA in all wavelengths are revealed, with amplitudes in the order of 0.05. Higher SSA wavelength dependence is found for cases of lower Ångström exponents and also an SSA decrease with decreasing extinction optical depth, suggesting an effect of the different aerosol composition.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (23) ◽  
pp. 5937-5943 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Bergstrom ◽  
P. Pilewskie ◽  
P. B. Russell ◽  
J. Redemann ◽  
T. C. Bond ◽  
...  

Abstract. We have determined the solar spectral absorption optical depth of atmospheric aerosols for specific case studies during several field programs (three cases have been reported previously; two are new results). We combined airborne measurements of the solar net radiant flux density and the aerosol optical depth with a detailed radiative transfer model for all but one of the cases. The field programs (SAFARI 2000, ACE Asia, PRIDE, TARFOX, INTEX-A) contained aerosols representing the major absorbing aerosol types: pollution, biomass burning, desert dust and mixtures. In all cases the spectral absorption optical depth decreases with wavelength and can be approximated with a power-law wavelength dependence (Absorption Angstrom Exponent or AAE). We compare our results with other recent spectral absorption measurements and attempt to briefly summarize the state of knowledge of aerosol absorption spectra in the atmosphere. We discuss the limitations in using the AAE for calculating the solar absorption. We also discuss the resulting spectral single scattering albedo for these cases.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 17467-17493 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kazadzis ◽  
A. Bais ◽  
A. Arola ◽  
N. Krotkov ◽  
N. Kouremeti ◽  
...  

Abstract. We have compared spectral ultraviolet overpass irradiances from the Ozone Monitoring Instruments (OMI) against ground-based Brewer measurements at Thessaloniki, Greece from September 2004 to December 2007. It is demonstrated that OMI overestimates UV irradiances by 30%, 17% and 13% for 305 nm, 324 nm, and 380 nm respectively and 20% for erythemally weighted irradiance. The bias between OMI and Brewer increases with increasing aerosol absorption optical thickness. We present methodologies that can be applied for correcting this bias based on experimental results derived from the comparison period and also theoretical approaches using radiative transfer model calculations. All correction approaches minimize the bias and the standard deviation of the ratio OMI versus Brewer ratio. According to the results, the best correction approach suggests that the OMI UV product has to be multiplied by a correction factor CA(λ) are in the order of 0.8, 0.88 and 0.9 for 305 nm, 324 nm and 380 nm respectively. Limitations and possibilities for applying such methodologies in a global scale are also discussed.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 585-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kazadzis ◽  
A. Bais ◽  
A. Arola ◽  
N. Krotkov ◽  
N. Kouremeti ◽  
...  

Abstract. We have compared spectral ultraviolet overpass irradiances from the Ozone Monitoring Instruments (OMI) against ground-based Brewer measurements at Thessaloniki, Greece from September 2004 to December 2007. It is demonstrated that OMI overestimates UV irradiances by 30%, 17% and 13% for 305 nm, 324 nm, and 380 nm respectively and 20% for erythemally weighted irradiance. The bias between OMI and Brewer increases with increasing aerosol absorption optical thickness. We present methodologies that can be applied for correcting this bias based on experimental results derived from the comparison period and also theoretical approaches using radiative transfer model calculations. All correction approaches minimize the bias and the standard deviation of the ratio OMI versus Brewer ratio. According to the results, the best correction approach suggests that the OMI UV product has to be multiplied by a correction factor CA(λ) of the order of 0.8, 0.88 and 0.9 for 305 nm, 324 nm and 380 nm respectively. Limitations and possibilities for applying such methodologies in a global scale are also discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 17987-18005 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bagheri ◽  
B. Kjeldstad ◽  
B. Johnsen

Abstract. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) from biomass burning aerosols from eastern Europe was measured in Trondheim, Norway (63.43° N , 10.43° E) in May 2006. The event was observed as far as the Arctic. In the first part of this paper, the surface measurements of direct and global UV radiation (and retrieved AOD) are used to simulate the data using a radiative transfer model. Measured and simulated data were used to study the effect of biomass aerosol on the levels of surface UV radiation. We found reductions of up to 31%, 15% and 2% in direct, global and diffuse surface UV irradiance (at 350 nm, SZA=50°±0.5°) as compared to typical aerosol conditions. In the second part of our study, surface measurements of global and direct irradiance at five wavelength in UVB and UVA (305, 313, 320, 340 and 380 nm) were coupled with a radiative transfer model to produce values of aerosol single scattering albedo, ω. The aerosol single scattering albedo for biomass aerosols is compared to ω for background aerosols. The values of ω for biomass aerosols were 0.76 at 305 nm, 0.75 at 313 nm, 0.79 at 320 nm, 0.72 at 340 nm and 0.80 at 380 nm.


2000 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 1742-1753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sundar A. Christopher ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
Ronald M. Welch ◽  
Jeffrey S. Reid ◽  
Peter V. Hobbs ◽  
...  

Abstract Using in situ measurements of aerosol optical properties and ground-based measurements of aerosol optical thickness (τs) during the Smoke, Clouds and Radiation—Brazil (SCAR-B) experiment, a four-stream broadband radiative transfer model is used to estimate the downward shortwave irradiance (DSWI) and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) shortwave aerosol radiative forcing (SWARF) in cloud-free regions dominated by smoke from biomass burning in Brazil. The calculated DSWI values are compared with broadband pyranometer measurements made at the surface. The results show that, for two days when near-coincident measurements of single-scattering albedo ω0 and τs are available, the root-mean-square errors between the measured and calculated DSWI for daytime data are within 30 W m−2. For five days during SCAR-B, however, when assumptions about ω0 have to be made and also when τs was significantly higher, the differences can be as large as 100 W m−2. At TOA, the SWARF per unit optical thickness ranges from −20 to −60 W m−2 over four major ecosystems in South America. The results show that τs and ω0 are the two most important parameters that affect DSWI calculations. For SWARF values, surface albedos also play an important role. It is shown that ω0 must be known within 0.05 and τs at 0.55 μm must be known to within 0.1 to estimate DSWI to within 20 W m−2. The methodology described in this paper could serve as a potential strategy for determining DSWI values in the presence of aerosols. The wavelength dependence of τs and ω0 over the entire shortwave spectrum is needed to improve radiative transfer calculations. If global retrievals of DSWI and SWARF from satellite measurements are to be performed in the presence of biomass-burning aerosols on a routine basis, a concerted effort should be made to develop methodologies for estimating ω0 and τs from satellite and ground-based measurements.


Author(s):  
Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis ◽  
Stelios Kazadzis ◽  
Kostas Eleftheratos ◽  
Vassilis Amiridis ◽  
Ilias Fountoulakis

The Absorbing/scattering nature of aerosols affects the total radiative forcing and this absorption to total extinction ratio is quantified by single scattering albedo (SSA). Effect of SSA in the Ultraviolet (UV) irradiance is less studied and limited measurements are available. SSA retrieved at Athens, Greece during 2009-2014 from Ultraviolet Multifilter Radiometer (UVMFR) at 332 and 368 nm, were used to calculate incoming UV irradiance, alongside with ones from AERONET at visible wavelengths, from OMI satellite at 342.5 nm and from AEROCOM climatological database at 300 nm. UVA and UVB irradiances were estimated using a Radiative Transfer Model and we found that relative differences could be as high as 20%, while average relative differences varied from 2% to 8.7 % for the whole experimental period. Both UVA and UVB drop by a rate of ~12% for 0.05 aerosol absorption optical depth compared to ones estimated using SSA at visible range. Brewer irradiance measurements at 324nm were used to validate simulated irradiances and a better agreement was found when UVMFR SSAs were used with an average difference of 0.86%, while when using visible or climatological input, relative differences were estimated +4.91 and +4.15% accordingly.


Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis ◽  
Stelios Kazadzis ◽  
Kostas Eleftheratos ◽  
Vassilis Amiridis ◽  
Ilias Fountoulakis

The absorbing and scattering nature of aerosols affects the total radiative forcing and is quantified by single scattering albedo (SSA), which is defined as the absorption to total extinction ratio. There are limited measurements of SSA in the ultraviolet (UV) irradiance spectrum, hence, the influence of SSA on incoming UV irradiance has not been explored in great depth. In the present study, UV irradiance was calculated and compared using different SSA datasets retrieved at Athens, Greece during 2009–2014; including SSA time series from Ultraviolet Multi-Filter Radiometer (UVMFR) at 332 and 368 nm, SSA from AERONET at 440 nm, from OMI satellite at 342.5 nm and AeroCom climatological database at 300 nm. Irradiances were estimated using a radiative transfer model (RTM). Comparisons of these results revealed that relative differences of UVA and UVB could be as high as 20%, whilst average relative differences varied from 2% to 8.7% for the entire experimental period. Both UVA and UVB drop by a rate of ~12% for 0.05 aerosol absorption optical depth in comparison to ones estimated with the use of SSA at visible range. Brewer irradiance measurements at 324 nm were used to validate modeled monochromatic irradiances and a better agreement was found when UVMFR SSAs were used with an average difference of 0.86%. However, when using visible or climatological input, relative differences were estimated +4.91% and +4.15% accordingly.


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