scholarly journals Enhancement of aerosol characterization using synergy of lidar and sun – photometer coincident observations: the GARRLiC algorithm

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 2253-2325 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Lopatin ◽  
O. Dubovik ◽  
A. Chaikovsky ◽  
Ph. Goloub ◽  
T. Lapyonok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Refractive Index ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Complex Refractive Index ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Inversion Algorithm ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
Lidar Observations ◽  
Aerosol Properties ◽  
Different Altitudes ◽  
Aerosol Type

Abstract. Currently most of experiments pursuing comprehensive characterization of atmosphere include coordinated observations by both lidar and radiometers in order to obtain important complimentary information about aerosol properties. The passive observations by radiometers from ground are mostly sensitive to the properties of aerosol in total atmospheric column and have very limited sensitivity to vertical structure of the atmosphere. Such observations are commonly used for measuring aerosol optical thickness and deriving the information about aerosol microphysics including aerosol particles shape, size distribution, and complex refractive index. In a contrast, lidar observations of atmospheric responses from different altitudes to laser pulses emitted from ground are designed to provide accurate profiling of the atmospheric properties. The interpretation of the lidar observation generally relies on some assumptions about aerosol type and loading. Here we present the GARRLiC algorithm (Generalized Aerosol Retrieval from Radiometer and Lidar Combined data) that simultaneously inverts co-incident lidar and radiometer observations and derives a united set of aerosol parameters. Such synergetic retrieval is expected to result in additional enhancements in derived aerosol properties because the backscattering observations by lidar add some sensitivity to the columnar properties of aerosol, while radiometric observations provide sufficient constraints on aerosol type and loading that generally are missing in lidar signals. GARRLiC is based on AERONET algorithm for inverting combined observations by radiometer and multi-wavelength elastic lidar observations. It is expected that spectral changes of backscattering signal obtained by multi-wavelength lidar at different altitudes provide some sensitivity to the vertical variability of aerosol particle sizes. In order to benefit from this sensitivity the algorithm is set to derive not only the vertical profile of total aerosol concentration but it also differentiates between the contributions of fine and coarse modes of aerosol. The detailed microphysical properties are assumed height independent and different for each mode and expected to be derived as a part of the retrieval. Thus, the GARRLiC inversion algorithm retrieves vertical distribution of both fine and coarse aerosol concentrations as well as the size distribution, complex refractive index and single scattering albedo for each mode. The potential and limitations of the method are demonstrated by the series of sensitivity tests. The practical outcome of the approach is illustrated by applications of the algorithm to the real lidar and radiometer observations obtained over selected AERONET site.

scholarly journals Aerosol retrieval from multiangle, multispectral photopolarimetric measurements: importance of spectral range and angular resolution

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 2625-2638 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Wu ◽  
O. Hasekamp ◽  
B. van Diedenhoven ◽  
B. Cairns
Keyword(s):  
Refractive Index ◽  
Spectral Range ◽  
Angular Resolution ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Microphysical Properties ◽  
Aerosol Retrieval ◽  
Spectral Ranges ◽  
Shortwave Infrared ◽  
Aerosol Properties ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. We investigated the importance of spectral range and angular resolution for aerosol retrieval from multiangle photopolarimetric measurements over land. For this purpose, we use an extensive set of simulated measurements for different spectral ranges and angular resolutions and subsets of real measurements of the airborne Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) carried out during the PODEX and SEAC4RS campaigns over the continental USA. Aerosol retrievals performed from RSP measurements show good agreement with ground-based AERONET measurements for aerosol optical depth (AOD), single scattering albedo (SSA) and refractive index. Furthermore, we found that inclusion of shortwave infrared bands (1590 and/or 2250 nm) significantly improves the retrieval of AOD, SSA and coarse mode microphysical properties. However, accuracies of the retrieved aerosol properties do not improve significantly when more than five viewing angles are used in the retrieval.

scholarly journals Impact of long-range transport over the Atlantic Ocean on Saharan dust optical and microphysical properties

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Velasco-Merino ◽  
David Mateos ◽  
Carlos Toledano ◽  
Joseph M. Prospero ◽  
Jack Molinie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Single Scattering Albedo ◽  
West African ◽  
Asymmetry Factor ◽  
Caribbean Basin ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
Aerosol Properties

Abstract. Mineral dust aerosol can be a major driver of aerosol climatology in regions distant from the sources. This study addresses the change of columnar aerosol properties when mineral dust arrives to the Caribbean Basin after transport from Africa over the Atlantic Ocean. We use data from NASA Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites in five Caribbean and two West African sites to characterize changes in aerosol properties: aerosol optical depth, size distribution, single scattering albedo, and refractive indexes. After obtaining local aerosol climatology in each area, the air mass connections between West Africa and Caribbean Basin have been investigated by means of air mass back trajectories. Over the period 1996–2014 we identify 3174 connection days, on average, 167 connection days per year. Among these, 1162 pairs of data present aerosol data in Caribbean sites with corresponding aerosol observations in Western Africa sites ~5–7 days before. Of these 1162 days, 484 meet the criteria to be characterized as mineral dust outbreaks. Based on these days we observe the following changes in aerosol-related properties in transiting the Atlantic: AOD decreases about 0.16 or −30 %; the volume particle size distribution shape shows no changes; single scattering albedo, refractive indexes, and asymmetry factor remain unchanged; the difference in the effective radius in West African area with respect to Caribbean Basin is between 0 and +0.3 µm; and half of the analyzed cases present predominance of non-spherical particles in both areas.

scholarly journals Optical properties of atmospheric fine particles near Beijing during the HOPE-J<sup>3</sup>A Campaign

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (22) ◽  
pp. 33675-33730
Author(s):  
X. Xu ◽  
W. Zhao ◽  
Q. Zhang ◽  
S. Wang ◽  
B. Fang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Refractive Index ◽  
Optical Properties ◽  
Fine Particles ◽  
Complex Refractive Index ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Single Scattering Albedo ◽  
Organic Mass ◽  
Absorption Coefficients ◽  
Aerosol Composition ◽  
Inorganic Species

Abstract. The optical properties and chemical composition of PM1.0 (particulate with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 1.0 μm) particles in a suburban environment (Huairou) near the mega-city Beijing were measured during the HOPE-J3A (Haze Observation Project Especially for Jing-Jin-Ji Area) field campaign. The campaign covered the period November 2014 to January 2015 during the winter coal heating season. The average and standard deviations for the extinction, scattering, absorption coefficients, and the aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) at λ = 470 nm during the measurement period were 201 ± 240, 164 ± 202, 37 ± 43 Mm-1, and 0.80 ± 0.08, respectively. The mean mass scattering (MSE) and absorption (MAE) efficiencies were 4.77 ± 0.01 and 0.87 ± 0.03 m2g-1, respectively. Highly time-resolved air pollution episodes clearly show the dramatic evolution of the PM1.0 size distribution, extensive optical properties (extinction, scattering, and absorption coefficients) and intensive optical properties (single scattering albedo and complex refractive index) during haze formation, development and decline. Time periods were classified into three different pollution levels (clear, slightly polluted, and polluted) for further analysis. It was found that: (1) The diurnal patterns of the aerosol extinction, scattering, absorption coefficients, and SSA differed for the three pollution classes. (2) The real and imaginary part of complex refractive index (CRI) increased, while the SSA decreased from clear to polluted days. (3) The relative contributions of organic and inorganic species to observed aerosol composition changed significantly from clear to polluted days: the organic mass fraction decreased (50 to 43 %) while the proportion of sulfates, nitrates, and ammonium increased strongly (34 to 44 %). (4) The fractional contribution of chemical components to extinction coefficients was calculated by using the modified IMPROVE algorithm. Organic mass was the largest contributor (58 %) to the total extinction of PM1.0. When the air quality deteriorated, the change of the relative contribution of sulfate aerosol to the total extinction was small, but the contribution of nitrate aerosol increased significantly (from 17 % on clear days to 23 % on polluted days). (5) The observed mass scattering efficiencies increased consistently with the pollution extent, however, the observed mass absorption efficiencies increased consistently with increasing mass concentration in slightly pollution conditions, but decreased under polluted conditions.

scholarly journals Global scale variability of the mineral dust long-wave refractive index: a new dataset of in situ measurements for climate modeling and remote sensing

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 1901-1929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Di Biagio ◽  
Paola Formenti ◽  
Yves Balkanski ◽  
Lorenzo Caponi ◽  
Mathieu Cazaunau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Refractive Index ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Complex Refractive Index ◽  
Mineralogical Composition ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Long Wave

Abstract. Modeling the interaction of dust with long-wave (LW) radiation is still a challenge because of the scarcity of information on the complex refractive index of dust from different source regions. In particular, little is known about the variability of the refractive index as a function of the dust mineralogical composition, which depends on the specific emission source, and its size distribution, which is modified during transport. As a consequence, to date, climate models and remote sensing retrievals generally use a spatially invariant and time-constant value for the dust LW refractive index. In this paper, the variability of the mineral dust LW refractive index as a function of its mineralogical composition and size distribution is explored by in situ measurements in a large smog chamber. Mineral dust aerosols were generated from 19 natural soils from 8 regions: northern Africa, the Sahel, eastern Africa and the Middle East, eastern Asia, North and South America, southern Africa, and Australia. Soil samples were selected from a total of 137 available samples in order to represent the diversity of sources from arid and semi-arid areas worldwide and to account for the heterogeneity of the soil composition at the global scale. Aerosol samples generated from soils were re-suspended in the chamber, where their LW extinction spectra (3–15 µm), size distribution, and mineralogical composition were measured. The generated aerosol exhibits a realistic size distribution and mineralogy, including both the sub- and super-micron fractions, and represents in typical atmospheric proportions the main LW-active minerals, such as clays, quartz, and calcite. The complex refractive index of the aerosol is obtained by an optical inversion based upon the measured extinction spectrum and size distribution. Results from the present study show that the imaginary LW refractive index (k) of dust varies greatly both in magnitude and spectral shape from sample to sample, reflecting the differences in particle composition. In the 3–15 µm spectral range, k is between ∼ 0.001 and 0.92. The strength of the dust absorption at ∼ 7 and 11.4 µm depends on the amount of calcite within the samples, while the absorption between 8 and 14 µm is determined by the relative abundance of quartz and clays. The imaginary part (k) is observed to vary both from region to region and for varying sources within the same region. Conversely, for the real part (n), which is in the range 0.84–1.94, values are observed to agree for all dust samples across most of the spectrum within the error bars. This implies that while a constant n can be probably assumed for dust from different sources, a varying k should be used both at the global and the regional scale. A linear relationship between the magnitude of the imaginary refractive index at 7.0, 9.2, and 11.4 µm and the mass concentration of calcite and quartz absorbing at these wavelengths was found. We suggest that this may lead to predictive rules to estimate the LW refractive index of dust in specific bands based on an assumed or predicted mineralogical composition, or conversely, to estimate the dust composition from measurements of the LW extinction at specific wavebands. Based on the results of the present study, we recommend that climate models and remote sensing instruments operating at infrared wavelengths, such as IASI (infrared atmospheric sounder interferometer), use regionally dependent refractive indices rather than generic values. Our observations also suggest that the refractive index of dust in the LW does not change as a result of the loss of coarse particles by gravitational settling, so that constant values of n and k could be assumed close to sources and following transport. The whole dataset of the dust complex refractive indices presented in this paper is made available to the scientific community in the Supplement.

scholarly journals Simultaneous retrieval of the complex refractive index and particle size distribution

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (15) ◽  
pp. 19328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yatao Ren ◽  
Hong Qi ◽  
Qin Chen ◽  
Liming Ruan ◽  
Heping Tan
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Refractive Index ◽  
Particle Size Distribution ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Complex Refractive Index

scholarly journals Inter-comparison between the Aerosol Optical Properties Retrieved by Different Inversion Methods from SKYNET Sky Radiometer Observations over Qionghai and Yucheng in China

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhe Jiang ◽  
Minzheng Duan ◽  
Huizheng Che ◽  
Wenxing Zhang ◽  
Teruyuki Nakajima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Refractive Index ◽  
Optical Properties ◽  
Complex Refractive Index ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Inversion Method ◽  
Aerosol Optical Properties ◽  
Validation Data ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
And Inversion ◽  
Volume Size

Abstract. This study analyzed the aerosol optical properties derived by SKYRAD.pack versions 5.0 and 4.2 using the radiometer measurements over Qionghai and Yucheng in China, two new sites of the sky radiometer network (SKYNET). The volume size distribution retrieved by V5.0 presented bimodal patterns with a 0.1–0.2 μm fine particle mode and a 5–6 μm coarse particle mode both over Qionghai and Yucheng. The differences of the volume size distributions between the two versions were very large for the coarse mode with a radius of over 5 μm. The mean values of single scattering albedo (SSA) at 500 nm retrieved from V5.0 were approximately 0.02 lower, but 0.03 higher than those from V4.2 in Qionghai and Yucheng, respectively. The average imaginary part of the complex refractive index (mi) retrieved from V5.0 at all wavelengths was systemically higher than those by V4.2 over Qionghai. Moreover, the differences between the real parts of the complex refractive index (mr) obtained using the two versions were within 4.25 % both at Yucheng and Qionghai. The seasonal variability of the aerosol properties over Qionghai and Yucheng were investigated based on SKYRAD.pack V5.0. The seasonal average SSA during the winter was larger than those in other seasons in Yucheng, while the lowest SSA values occurred in winter over Qionghai. Meanwhile, the mr showed a minimum in winter over both sites. The results can provide validation data in China for SKYNET to continue improving the data-processing and inversion method. The results provide valuable references for continued improvement of the retrieval algorithms of SKYNET and other aerosol observational networks.

scholarly journals Size distribution of near-surface aerosols and its relation to the columnar aerosol optical depths

2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 3347-3351 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Pillai ◽  
K. Krishna Moorthy
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Quartz Crystal Microbalance ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Mass Concentration ◽  
Quartz Crystal ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Aerosol Mass ◽  
Aerosol Mass Concentration ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
Aerosol Properties

Abstract. Simultaneous data on Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and size segregated, near-surface, aerosol mass concentration was obtained from a Multi wavelength Solar Radiometer (MWR) and Quartz Crystal Microbalance Impactor (QCM), respectively. These were used to examine the association between near-surface aerosol properties and columnar AOD. The spectral AODs were approximated to the Ångström relation τp=βλ-α, and the wavelength exponent α and turbidity coefficient β have been obtained. In general, α was found to be well associated with the relative abundance of accumulation mode aerosols (estimated from the simultaneous QCM data) while β followed the variations of the coarse mode aerosol mass concentration; the association being closer during periods of continental airmass.

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