scholarly journals Daytime aerosol extinction profiles from the combination of CALIOP profiles and AERONET products

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 3983-4038 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Marcos ◽  
R. Pedrós ◽  
J. L. Gómez-Amo ◽  
M. Sicard ◽  
M. P. Utrillas ◽  
...  

Abstract. The solar background illumination has a strong effect on CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) measurements, leading to a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio of the lidar signal. Because of this, CALIOP level 2 data algorithms might be limited in the retrieval of the properties of the aerosols in the atmosphere. In this work, we present a methodology that combines CALIOP level 1 data with AERONET (Aerosol RObotic NETwork) measurements to retrieve aerosol extinction profiles and lidar ratios in daytime conditions. In this way, we fulfill a two-fold objective: first, we obtain more accurate daytime aerosol information; second, we supplement column integrated measurements from AERONET sun photometers with information about the vertical distribution of aerosols. The methodology has been applied to Burjassot (39.30° N, 0.25° W) and Barcelona (41.39° N, 2.11° E) AERONET stations in the Mediterranean coast of Spain in the period from June 2006 to September 2011. We have found good agreement for the extinction profiles in several study cases of ground lidar measurements in Barcelona, coincident with CALIOP overpasses. Finally, the methodology has proved to be useful for the study of special episodes such as Saharan dust outbreaks.

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1323-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Royer ◽  
J.-C. Raut ◽  
G. Ajello ◽  
S. Berthier ◽  
P. Chazette

Abstract. We propose here a synergy between Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations/Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIPSO/CALIOP) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Aqua and Terra in order to retrieve aerosol optical properties over the Po Valley from June 2006 to February 2009. Such an approach gives simultaneously access to the aerosol extinction vertical profile and to the equivalent backscatter-to-extinction ratio at 532 nm (BER, inverse of the lidar ratio). The choice of the Po valley has been driven by the great occurrences of pollutant events leading to a mean MODIS-derived aerosol optical thickness of 0.27(±0.17) at 550 nm over a large area of ~120 000 km2. In such area, a significant number of CALIOP level-1 vertical profiles can be averaged (~200 individual laser shots) leading to a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 10 in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) sufficient to perform a homemade inversion of the mean lidar profiles. The mean BER (together with the associated variabilities) over the Po Valley retrieved from the coupling between CALIOP/MODIS-Aqua and CALIOP/MODIS-Terra are ~0.014(±0.003) sr−1 and ~0.013(±0.004) sr−1, respectively. The total uncertainty on BER retrieval has been assessed to be ~0.003 sr−1 using a Monte Carlo approach. These mean BER values retrieved have been compared with those given by the level-2 operational products of CALIOP ~0.016(±0.003) sr−1. The values we assessed appear close to what is expected above urban area. A seasonal cycle has been observed with higher BER values in spring, summer and fall, which can be associated to dust event occurring during this period. In most of cases, the mean aerosol extinction coefficient in the PBL diverges significantly between the level-2 operational products and the result of our own inversion procedure. Indeed, mean differences of 0.10 km−1 (~50%) and 0.13 km−1 (~60%) have been calculated using MODIS-Aqua/CALIOP and MODIS-Terra/CALIOP synergies, respectively. Such differences may be due to the identification of the aerosol model by the operational algorithm and thus to the choice of the BER.


2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 893-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Royer ◽  
J.-C. Raut ◽  
G. Ajello ◽  
S. Berthier ◽  
P. Chazette

Abstract. In this study aerosol optical properties are studied over the Po Valley from June 2006 to February 2009 using Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations/Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIPSO/CALIOP) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Aqua and Terra. The choice of the Po valley has been driven by the numerous occurrences of pollutant events leading to a mean MODIS-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) of 0.27 (±0.17) at 550 nm over a large area of ~120 000 km2. AOD derived from MODIS, AERONET and CALIOP have been compared. The comparison with AERONET sun-photometers has highlighted an overestimation of AOD from MODIS radiometers of 0.047 for Aqua and 0.088 for Terra. A systematic underestimation of AOD derived from CALIOP Level-2 products has been observed in comparison to Aqua (0.060) and Terra (0.075) MODIS values. Considering those discrepancies a synergistic approach combining CALIOP level-1 data and MODIS AOD has been developed for the first time over land to retrieve the equivalent extinction-to-backscatter ratio at 532 nm (LR). MODIS-derived AOD were indeed used to constrain CALIOP profiles inversion. A significant number of CALIOP level-1 vertical profiles have been averaged (~200 individual laser shots) in the Po Valley, leading to a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) higher than 10 in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), which is sufficient to invert the mean lidar profiles. The mean LR (together with the associated variabilities) over the Po Valley retrieved from the coupling between CALIOP/MODIS-Aqua and CALIOP/MODIS-Terra are ~78±22 sr and ~86±27 sr, respectively. The total uncertainty on LR retrieval has been assessed to be ~12 sr using a Monte Carlo approach. The mean LR determined from a look-up table through a selection algorithm in CALIOP level 2 operational products (~63±8 sr) show a good agreement for daytime inversion (70±11 sr for Aqua and 74±14 sr for Terra). These values appear close to what is expected for pollution aerosols in an urban area. Contrarily large differences are observed when considering nighttime CALIOP profiles inverted with daytime AOD from MODIS (63±7 sr for CALIOP level-2 compared with 89±28 sr for CALIOP/Aqua and 103±32 sr for CALIOP/Terra synergies). They can be explained by a significant evolution of AOD between lidar and radiometer passing times. In most of cases, the mean aerosol extinction coefficient in the PBL significantly differs between the level-2 operational products and the result CALIPSO/MODIS synergy results. Mean differences of 0.10 km−1 (~50%) and 0.13 km−1 (~60%) have indeed been calculated using MODIS-Aqua/CALIOP and MODIS-Terra/CALIOP coupling studies, respectively. Such differences may be due to the identification of the aerosol model by the operational algorithm and thus to the choice of the LR.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1953-1967 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Peyridieu ◽  
A. Chédin ◽  
D. Tanré ◽  
V. Capelle ◽  
C. Pierangelo ◽  
...  

Abstract. Monthly mean infrared (10 μm) dust layer aerosol optical depth (AOD) and mean altitude are simultaneously retrieved over the tropics (30° S–30° N) from almost seven years of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) observations covering the period January 2003 to September 2009. The method developed relies on the construction of look-up-tables computed for a large selection of atmospheric situations and follows two main steps: first, determination of the observed atmospheric thermodynamic situation and, second, determination of the dust properties. A very good agreement is found between AIRS-retrieved AODs and visible optical depths from the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS/Aqua) during the main (summer) dust season, in particular for three regions of the tropical North Atlantic and one region of the north-western Indian Ocean. Outside this season, differences are mostly due to the sensitivity of MODIS to aerosol species other than dust and to the more specific sensitivity of AIRS to the dust coarse mode. AIRS-retrieved dust layer mean altitudes are compared to the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP/CALIPSO) aerosol mean layer altitude for the period June 2006 to June 2009. Results for a region of the north tropical Atlantic downwind of the Sahara show a good agreement between the two products (σ≈360 m). Differences observed in the peak-to-trough seasonal amplitude, smaller from AIRS, are principally attributed to the large difference in spatial sampling of the two instruments. They also come from the intrinsic limit in sensitivity of the passive infrared sounders for low altitudes. These results demonstrate the capability of high resolution infrared sounders to measure not only dust aerosol AOD but also the mean dust layer altitude.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 499-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis D. Toth ◽  
James R. Campbell ◽  
Jeffrey S. Reid ◽  
Jason L. Tackett ◽  
Mark A. Vaughan ◽  
...  

Abstract. Due to instrument sensitivities and algorithm detection limits, level 2 (L2) Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) 532 nm aerosol extinction profile retrievals are often populated with retrieval fill values (RFVs), which indicate the absence of detectable levels of aerosol within the profile. In this study, using 4 years (2007–2008 and 2010–2011) of CALIOP version 3 L2 aerosol data, the occurrence frequency of daytime CALIOP profiles containing all RFVs (all-RFV profiles) is studied. In the CALIOP data products, the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) of any all-RFV profile is reported as being zero, which may introduce a bias in CALIOP-based AOT climatologies. For this study, we derive revised estimates of AOT for all-RFV profiles using collocated Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Dark Target (DT) and, where available, AErosol RObotic NEtwork (AERONET) data. Globally, all-RFV profiles comprise roughly 71 % of all daytime CALIOP L2 aerosol profiles (i.e., including completely attenuated profiles), accounting for nearly half (45 %) of all daytime cloud-free L2 aerosol profiles. The mean collocated MODIS DT (AERONET) 550 nm AOT is found to be near 0.06 (0.08) for CALIOP all-RFV profiles. We further estimate a global mean aerosol extinction profile, a so-called “noise floor”, for CALIOP all-RFV profiles. The global mean CALIOP AOT is then recomputed by replacing RFV values with the derived noise-floor values for both all-RFV and non-all-RFV profiles. This process yields an improvement in the agreement of CALIOP and MODIS over-ocean AOT.


2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 3243-3255 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nemuc ◽  
J. Vasilescu ◽  
C. Talianu ◽  
L. Belegante ◽  
D. Nicolae

Abstract. Multi-wavelength depolarization Raman lidar measurements from Magurele, Romania are used in this study along with simulated mass-extinction efficiencies to calculate the mass concentration profiles of different atmospheric components, due to their different depolarization contribution to the 532 nm backscatter coefficient. Linear particle depolarization ratio (δpart) was computed using the relative amplification factor and the system-dependent molecular depolarization. The low depolarizing component was considered as urban/smoke, with a mean δpart of 3%, while for the high depolarizing component (mineral dust) a mean δpart of 35% was assumed. For this study 11 months of lidar measurements were analysed. Two study cases are presented in details: one for a typical Saharan dust aerosol intrusion, 10 June 2012 and one for 12 July 2012 when a lofted layer consisting of biomass burning smoke extended from 3 to 4.5 km height. Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds software package (OPAC) classification and conversion factors were used to calculate mass concentrations. We found that calibrated depolarization measurements are critical in distinguishing between smoke-reach aerosol during the winter and dust-reach aerosol during the summer, as well as between elevated aerosol layers having different origins. Good agreement was found between lidar retrievals and DREAM- Dust REgional Atmospheric Model forecasts in cases of Saharan dust. Our method was also compared against LIRIC (The Lidar/Radiometer Inversion Code) and very small differences were observed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 5923-5957
Author(s):  
A. Nemuc ◽  
J. Vasilescu ◽  
C. Talianu ◽  
L. Belegante ◽  
D. Nicolae

Abstract. Multiwavelength depolarization Raman lidar measurements from Magurele, Romania are used in this study along with simulated mass-extinction efficiencies to calculate the mass concentrations profiles of different atmospheric components, due to their different depolarization contribution to the 532 nm backscatter coefficient. Linear particle depolarization ratio (δpart) was computed using the relative amplification factor and the system-dependent molecular depolarization. The low depolarizing component was considered as urban/smoke, with a mean δpart of 3%, while for the high depolarizing component (mineral dust) a mean δpart of 35% was assumed. For this study 11 months of lidar measurements were analyzed. Two study cases are presented in details: one for a typical Saharan dust aerosol intrusion, 10 June 2012 and one for 12 July 2012 when a lofted layer consisting of biomass burning smoke extended from 3 to 4.5 km height. Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds software package (OPAC) classification and conversion factors were used to calculate mass concentrations. We found that calibrated depolarization measurements are critical to distinguish between smoke-reach aerosol during the winter and dust-reach aerosol during the summer, as well as between elevated aerosol layers having different origins. Good agreement was found between lidar retrievals and DREAM- Dust REgional Atmospheric Model forecasts in cases of Saharan dust. Our method was also compared against LIRIC (The Lidar/Radiometer Inversion Code) and very small differences were observed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 4129-4152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason L. Tackett ◽  
David M. Winker ◽  
Brian J. Getzewich ◽  
Mark A. Vaughan ◽  
Stuart A. Young ◽  
...  

Abstract. The CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) level 3 aerosol profile product reports globally gridded, quality-screened, monthly mean aerosol extinction profiles retrieved by CALIOP (the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization). This paper describes the quality screening and averaging methods used to generate the version 3 product. The fundamental input data are CALIOP level 2 aerosol extinction profiles and layer classification information (aerosol, cloud, and clear-air). Prior to aggregation, the extinction profiles are quality-screened by a series of filters to reduce the impact of layer detection errors, layer classification errors, extinction retrieval errors, and biases due to an intermittent signal anomaly at the surface. The relative influence of these filters are compared in terms of sample rejection frequency, mean extinction, and mean aerosol optical depth (AOD). The “extinction QC flag” filter is the most influential in preventing high-biases in level 3 mean extinction, while the “misclassified cirrus fringe” filter is most aggressive at rejecting cirrus misclassified as aerosol. The impact of quality screening on monthly mean aerosol extinction is investigated globally and regionally. After applying quality filters, the level 3 algorithm calculates monthly mean AOD by vertically integrating the monthly mean quality-screened aerosol extinction profile. Calculating monthly mean AOD by integrating the monthly mean extinction profile prevents a low bias that would result from alternately integrating the set of extinction profiles first and then averaging the resultant AOD values together. Ultimately, the quality filters reduce level 3 mean AOD by −24 and −31 % for global ocean and global land, respectively, indicating the importance of quality screening.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 435-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Campbell ◽  
M. A. Vaughan ◽  
M. Oo ◽  
R. E. Holz ◽  
J. R. Lewis ◽  
...  

Abstract. 2012 Level-2 Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) satellite-based cloud data sets are investigated for thresholds that distinguish the presence of cirrus clouds in autonomous lidar measurements, based on temperatures, heights, optical depth and phase. A thermal threshold, proposed by Sassen and Campbell (2001) for cloud top temperature Ttop ≤ −37 °C, is evaluated versus CALIOP algorithms that identify ice-phase cloud layers using polarized backscatter measurements. Derived global mean cloud top heights (11.15 vs. 10.07 km above mean sea level; a.m.s.l.), base heights (8.76 km a.m.s.l. vs. 7.95 km a.m.s.l.), temperatures (−58.48 °C vs. −52.18 °C and −42.40 °C vs. −38.13 °C, respectively, for tops and bases) and optical depths (1.18 vs. 1.23) reflect the sensitivity to this constraint. Over 99 % of all Ttop ≤ −37 °C clouds are classified as ice by CALIOP Level-2 algorithms. Over 81 % of all ice clouds correspond with Ttop ≤ −37 °C. For instruments lacking polarized measurements, and thus practical estimates of phase, Ttop ≤ −37 °C provides sufficient justification for distinguishing cirrus, as opposed to the risks of glaciated liquid-water cloud contamination occurring in a given sample from clouds identified at relatively "warm" (Ttop > −37 °C) temperatures. Although accounting for uncertainties in temperatures collocated with lidar data (i.e., model reanalyses/sondes) may justifiably relax the threshold to include warmer cases, the ambiguity of "warm" ice clouds cannot be fully reconciled with available measurements, conspicuously including phase. Cloud top heights and optical depths are investigated, and global distributions and frequencies derived, as functions of CALIOP-retrieved phase. These data provide little additional information, compared with temperature alone, and may exacerbate classification uncertainties overall.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (19) ◽  
pp. 12687-12707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Logan Lee ◽  
Jianglong Zhang ◽  
Jeffrey S. Reid ◽  
John E. Yorks

Abstract. We present a comparison of 1064 nm aerosol optical depth (AOD) and aerosol extinction profiles from the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) level 2 aerosol product with collocated Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) AOD, Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua and Terra Dark Target AOD and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) AOD and extinction data for the period of March 2015–October 2017. Upon quality-assurance checks of CATS data, reasonable agreement is found between aerosol data from CATS and other sensors. Using quality-assured CATS aerosol data, for the first time, variations in AODs and aerosol extinction profiles are evaluated at 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00 UTC (and/or 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00 local time or LT) on both regional and global scales. This study suggests that marginal variations are found in AOD from a global mean perspective, with the minimum aerosol extinction values found at 18:00 LT near the surface layer for global oceans, for both the June–November and December–May seasons. Over land, below 500 m, the daily minimum and maximum aerosol extinction values are found at 12:00 and 00:00/06:00 LT, respectively. Strong diurnal variations are also found over north Africa, the Middle East and India for the December–May season, and over north Africa, south Africa, the Middle East and India for the June–November season.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 14749-14795 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Amiridis ◽  
U. Wandinger ◽  
E. Marinou ◽  
E. Giannakaki ◽  
A. Tsekeri ◽  
...  

Abstract. We demonstrate improvements in CALIPSO dust extinction retrievals over North Africa and Europe when corrections are applied regarding the Saharan dust lidar ratio assumption, the separation of dust portion in detected dust mixtures, and the averaging scheme introduced in the Level 3 CALIPSO product. First, a universal, spatially constant lidar ratio of 58 sr instead of 40 sr is applied to individual Level 2 dust-related backscatter products. The resulting aerosol optical depths show an improvement compared with synchronous and co-located AERONET measurements. An absolute bias of the order of −0.03 has been found, improving on the statistically significant biases of the order of −0.10 reported in the literature for the original CALIPSO product. When compared with the MODIS co-located AOD product, the CALIPSO negative bias is even less for the lidar ratio of 58 sr. After introducing the new lidar ratio for the domain studied, we examine potential improvements to the climatological CALIPSO Level 3 extinction product: (1) by introducing a new methodology for the calculation of pure dust extinction from dust mixtures and (2) by applying an averaging scheme that includes zero extinction values for the non-dust aerosol types detected. The scheme is applied at a horizontal spatial resolution of 1° × 1° for ease of comparison with the instantaneous and co-located dust extinction profiles simulated by the BSC-DREAM8b dust model. Comparisons show that the extinction profiles retrieved with the proposed methodology reproduce the well-known model biases per sub-region examined. The very good agreement of the proposed CALIPSO extinction product with respect to AERONET, MODIS and the BSC-DREAM8b dust model, makes this dataset an ideal candidate for the provision of an accurate and robust multi-year dust climatology over North Africa and Europe.


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