scholarly journals In Situ Samplings and Remote Sensing Measurements to Characterize Aerosol Properties over Southeast Italy

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 1341-1356 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Bellantone ◽  
I. Carofalo ◽  
F. De Tomasi ◽  
M. R. Perrone ◽  
M. Santese ◽  
...  

Abstract Ground-based particulate matter (PM) samplers, an XeF Raman lidar operating in the framework of the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET), and a sun/sky radiometer operating in the framework of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) have been used to characterize vertical profiles, optical and microphysical properties, and chemical composition of aerosols during the 29 June–1 July 2005 dust outbreak that occurred over the central-eastern Mediterranean. Aerosol backscatter coefficient, total depolarization, and lidar ratio vertical profiles revealed that a well-mixed dust layer extending from ∼0.5 to 6 km was present over southeastern Italy on 30 June. Sun/sky radiometer measurements revealed a bimodal lognormal size distribution during all measurement days. The particle volume distribution was found to be well correlated either to the PM mass distribution measured at ground by a seven-stage cascade impactor and to the fine to total suspended PM mass ratio measured by ground-based PM samplers. Scanning electron microscopy and ion chromatography analyses on PM samples revealed that coarse-mode aerosols were mainly made of carbonate, aluminum-silicate, and sea salt particles. Carbon, sulfate, and nitrate particles were the main components of fine-mode aerosols representing more than 50% of the total aerosol load; the significant role of fine-mode anthropogenic particles during a dust event is highlighted. Finally, the potential capabilities of complementary measurements by passive and active remote sensing techniques and in situ observations to retrieve the vertical distribution of the particle number and mass concentration are analyzed and discussed.

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Tsekeri ◽  
Vassilis Amiridis ◽  
Franco Marenco ◽  
Athanasios Nenes ◽  
Eleni Marinou ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present the In situ/Remote sensing aerosol Retrieval Algorithm (IRRA) that combines airborne in situ and lidar remote sensing data to retrieve vertical profiles of ambient aerosol optical, microphysical and hygroscopic properties, employing the ISORROPIA II model for acquiring the particle hygroscopic growth. Here we apply the algorithm on data collected from the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) BAe-146 research aircraft during the ACEMED campaign in the Eastern Mediterranean. Vertical profiles of aerosol microphysical properties have been derived successfully for an aged smoke plume near the city of Thessaloniki with aerosol optical depth of  ∼  0.4 at 532 nm, single scattering albedos of  ∼  0.9–0.95 at 550 nm and typical lidar ratios for smoke of  ∼  60–80 sr at 532 nm. IRRA retrieves highly hydrated particles above land, with 55 and 80 % water volume content for ambient relative humidity of 80 and 90 %, respectively. The proposed methodology is highly advantageous for aerosol characterization in humid conditions and can find valuable applications in aerosol–cloud interaction schemes. Moreover, it can be used for the validation of active space-borne sensors, as is demonstrated here for the case of CALIPSO.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Tsekeri ◽  
Vassilis Amiridis ◽  
Franco Marenco ◽  
Athanasios Nenes ◽  
Eleni Marinou ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present the In-situ/Remote sensing aerosol Retrieval Algorithm (IRRA) that combines airborne in-situ and lidar remote sensing data to retrieve vertical profiles of ambient aerosol optical, microphysical and hygroscopic properties, employing the ISORROPIA II model for acquiring the hygroscopic growth. Here we apply the algorithm on data collected from the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) BAe-146 research aircraft during the ACEMED campaign in Eastern Mediterranean: vertical profiles of aerosol microphysical properties have been derived successfully for an aged smoke plume near the city of Thessaloniki with typical lidar ratios of ~ 60–80 sr at 532 nm, along with single scattering albedos of ~ 0.9–0.95 at 550 nm. The aerosol layer reaches the 3.5 km with aerosol optical depth at ~ 0.4 at 532 nm. Our analysis shows that the smoke particles are highly hydrated above land, with 55 % and 80 % water volume content for ambient relative humidity of 80 % and 90 %, respectively. The proposed methodology is highly advantageous for aerosol characterization in humid conditions and can find valuable applications in aerosol-cloud interaction schemes. Moreover, it can be used for the validation of active space-borne sensors, as is demonstrated here for the case of CALIPSO.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 3095-3112 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Sawamura ◽  
D. Müller ◽  
R. M. Hoff ◽  
C. A. Hostetler ◽  
R. A. Ferrare ◽  
...  

Abstract. Retrievals of aerosol microphysical properties (effective radius, volume and surface-area concentrations) and aerosol optical properties (complex index of refraction and single-scattering albedo) were obtained from a hybrid multiwavelength lidar data set for the first time. In July 2011, in the Baltimore–Washington DC region, synergistic profiling of optical and microphysical properties of aerosols with both airborne (in situ and remote sensing) and ground-based remote sensing systems was performed during the first deployment of DISCOVER-AQ. The hybrid multiwavelength lidar data set combines ground-based elastic backscatter lidar measurements at 355 nm with airborne High-Spectral-Resolution Lidar (HSRL) measurements at 532 nm and elastic backscatter lidar measurements at 1064 nm that were obtained less than 5 km apart from each other. This was the first study in which optical and microphysical retrievals from lidar were obtained during the day and directly compared to AERONET and in situ measurements for 11 cases. Good agreement was observed between lidar and AERONET retrievals. Larger discrepancies were observed between lidar retrievals and in situ measurements obtained by the aircraft and aerosol hygroscopic effects are believed to be the main factor in such discrepancies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 873-878
Author(s):  
Alexandru Dandocsi ◽  
Anca Nemuc ◽  
Cristina Marin ◽  
Simona Andrei

An intensive measurement campaign was performed during September 2014 in southern Romania in two different locations: Magurele, Ilfov County and Turceni, Gorj County. This paper presents one case study with analysis of the aerosol properties from in-situ, passive remote sensing and active remote sensing measurements. A Multiwavelength Raman Lidar (RALI) provided one hour averaged vertical profiles of extinction and backscatter from the 532 nm and 1064 nm channels in Magurele. The UV scanning Lidar (MILI) provided one hour averaged backscattered and extinction vertical profiles for Turceni. Planetary Boundary Layer Height (PBLH) was calculated using the altitude of the maximum negative gradient of the range corrected signal. Mass concentrations for different aerosol species (organics, nitrate, sulphate, ammonium and chloride) were obtained from in-situ measurements using Aerosol Mass Spectrometer located in M�gurele and Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) located in Turceni.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 7001-7017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Esteban Bedoya-Velásquez ◽  
Francisco Navas-Guzmán ◽  
María José Granados-Muñoz ◽  
Gloria Titos ◽  
Roberto Román ◽  
...  

Abstract. This study focuses on the analysis of aerosol hygroscopic growth during the Sierra Nevada Lidar AerOsol Profiling Experiment (SLOPE I) campaign by using the synergy of active and passive remote sensors at the ACTRIS Granada station and in situ instrumentation at a mountain station (Sierra Nevada, SNS). To this end, a methodology based on simultaneous measurements of aerosol profiles from an EARLINET multi-wavelength Raman lidar (RL) and relative humidity (RH) profiles obtained from a multi-instrumental approach is used. This approach is based on the combination of calibrated water vapor mixing ratio (r) profiles from RL and continuous temperature profiles from a microwave radiometer (MWR) for obtaining RH profiles with a reasonable vertical and temporal resolution. This methodology is validated against the traditional one that uses RH from co-located radiosounding (RS) measurements, obtaining differences in the hygroscopic growth parameter (γ) lower than 5 % between the methodology based on RS and the one presented here. Additionally, during the SLOPE I campaign the remote sensing methodology used for aerosol hygroscopic growth studies has been checked against Mie calculations of aerosol hygroscopic growth using in situ measurements of particle number size distribution and submicron chemical composition measured at SNS. The hygroscopic case observed during SLOPE I showed an increase in the particle backscatter coefficient at 355 and 532 nm with relative humidity (RH ranged between 78 and 98 %), but also a decrease in the backscatter-related Ångström exponent (AE) and particle linear depolarization ratio (PLDR), indicating that the particles became larger and more spherical due to hygroscopic processes. Vertical and horizontal wind analysis is performed by means of a co-located Doppler lidar system, in order to evaluate the horizontal and vertical dynamics of the air masses. Finally, the Hänel parameterization is applied to experimental data for both stations, and we found good agreement on γ measured with remote sensing (γ532=0.48±0.01 and γ355=0.40±0.01) with respect to the values calculated using Mie theory (γ532=0.53±0.02 and γ355=0.45±0.02), with relative differences between measurements and simulations lower than 9 % at 532 nm and 11 % at 355 nm.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 2267-2285
Author(s):  
Simone Brunamonti ◽  
Giovanni Martucci ◽  
Gonzague Romanens ◽  
Yann Poltera ◽  
Frank G. Wienhold ◽  
...  

Abstract. Remote-sensing measurements by light detection and ranging (lidar) instruments are fundamental for the monitoring of altitude-resolved aerosol optical properties. Here we validate vertical profiles of aerosol backscatter coefficient (βaer) measured by two independent lidar systems using co-located balloon-borne measurements performed by Compact Optical Backscatter Aerosol Detector (COBALD) sondes. COBALD provides high-precision in situ measurements of βaer at two wavelengths (455 and 940 nm). The two analyzed lidar systems are the research Raman Lidar for Meteorological Observations (RALMO) and the commercial CHM15K ceilometer (Lufft, Germany). We consider in total 17 RALMO and 31 CHM15K profiles, co-located with simultaneous COBALD soundings performed throughout the years 2014–2019 at the MeteoSwiss observatory of Payerne (Switzerland). The RALMO (355 nm) and CHM15K (1064 nm) measurements are converted to 455 and 940 nm, respectively, using the Ångström exponent profiles retrieved from COBALD data. To account for the different receiver field-of-view (FOV) angles between the two lidars (0.01–0.02∘) and COBALD (6∘), we derive a custom-made correction using Mie-theory scattering simulations. Our analysis shows that both lidar instruments achieve on average a good agreement with COBALD measurements in the boundary layer and free troposphere, up to 6 km altitude. For medium-high-aerosol-content measurements at altitudes below 3 km, the mean ± standard deviation difference in βaer calculated from all considered soundings is −2 % ± 37 % (−0.018 ± 0.237 Mm−1 sr−1 at 455 nm) for RALMO−COBALD and +5 % ± 43 % (+0.009 ± 0.185 Mm−1 sr−1 at 940 mm) for CHM15K−COBALD. Above 3 km altitude, absolute deviations generally decrease, while relative deviations increase due to the prevalence of air masses with low aerosol content. Uncertainties related to the FOV correction and spatial- and temporal-variability effects (associated with the balloon's drift with altitude and different integration times) contribute to the large standard deviations observed at low altitudes. The lack of information on the aerosol size distribution and the high atmospheric variability prevent an accurate quantification of these effects. Nevertheless, the excellent agreement observed in individual profiles, including fine and complex structures in the βaer vertical distribution, shows that under optimal conditions, the discrepancies with the in situ measurements are typically comparable to the estimated statistical uncertainties in the remote-sensing measurements. Therefore, we conclude that βaer profiles measured by the RALMO and CHM15K lidar systems are in good agreement with in situ measurements by COBALD sondes up to 6 km altitude.


Cirrus ◽  
2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Sassen ◽  
Gerald Mace

Cirrus clouds have only recently been recognized as having a significant influence on weather and climate through their impact on the radiative energy budget of the atmosphere. In addition, the unique difficulties presented by the study of cirrus put them on the “back burner” of atmospheric research for much of the twentieth century. Foremost, because they inhabit the frigid upper troposphere, their inaccessibility has hampered intensive research. Other factors have included a lack of in situ instrumentation to effectively sample the clouds and environment, and basic uncertainties in the underlying physics of ice cloud formation, growth, and maintenance. Cloud systems that produced precipitation, severe weather, or hazards to aviation were deemed more worthy of research support until the mid- 1980s. Beginning at this time, however, major field research programs such as the First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program) Regional Experiment (FIRE; Cox et al. 1987), International Cirrus Experiment (ICE; Raschke et al. 1990), Experimental Cloud Lidar Pilot Study (ECLIPS; Platt et al. 1994), and the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program (Stokes and Schwartz 1994) have concentrated on cirrus cloud research, relying heavily on ground-based remote sensing observations combined with research aircraft. What has caused this change in research emphasis is an appreciation for the potentially significant role that cirrus play in maintaining the radiation balance of the earth-atmosphere system (Liou 1986). As climate change issues were treated more seriously, it was recognized that the effects, or feedbacks, of extensive high-level ice clouds in response to global warming could be pivotal. This fortunately came at a time when new generations of meteorological instrumentation were becoming available. Beginning in the early 1970s, major advancements were made in the fields of numerical cloud modeling and cloud measurements using aircraft probes, satellite multispectral imaging, and remote sensing with lidar, short-wavelength radar, and radiometers, all greatly facilitating cirrus research. Each of these experimental approaches have their advantages and drawbacks, and it should also be noted that a successful cloud modeling effort relies on field data for establishing boundary conditions and providing case studies for validation. Although the technologies created for in situ aircraft measurements can clearly provide unique knowledge of cirrus cloud thermodynamic and microphysical properties (Dowling and Radke 1990), available probes may suffer from limitations in their response to the wide range of cirrus particles and actually sample a rather small volume of cloud during any mission.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 2139-2153 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Crumeyrolle ◽  
G. Chen ◽  
L. Ziemba ◽  
A. Beyersdorf ◽  
L. Thornhill ◽  
...  

Abstract. During the NASA DISCOVER-AQ campaign over the US Baltimore, MD–Washington, D.C., metropolitan area in July 2011, the NASA P-3B aircraft performed extensive profiling of aerosol optical, chemical, and microphysical properties. These in situ profiles were coincident with ground-based remote sensing (AERONET) and in situ (PM2.5) measurements. Here, we use this data set to study the correlation between the PM2.5 observations at the surface and the column integrated measurements. Aerosol optical depth (AOD550 nm) calculated with the extinction (550 nm) measured during the in situ profiles was found to be strongly correlated with the volume of aerosols present in the boundary layer (BL). Despite the strong correlation, some variability remains, and we find that the presence of aerosol layers above the BL (in the buffer layer – BuL) introduces significant uncertainties in PM2.5 estimates based on column-integrated measurements (overestimation of PM2.5 by a factor of 5). This suggests that the use of active remote sensing techniques would dramatically improve air quality retrievals. Indeed, the relationship between the AOD550 nm and the PM2.5 is strongly improved by accounting for the aerosol present in and above the BL (i.e., integrating the aerosol loading from the surface to the top of the BuL). Since more than 15% of the AOD values observed during DISCOVER-AQ are dominated by aerosol water uptake, the f(RH)amb (ratio of scattering coefficient at ambient relative humidity (RH) to scattering coefficient at low RH; see Sect. 3.2) is used to study the impact of the aerosol hygroscopicity on the PM2.5 retrievals. The results indicate that PM2.5 can be predicted within a factor up to 2 even when the vertical variability of the f(RH)amb is assumed to be negligible. Moreover, f(RH = 80%) and RH measurements performed at the ground may be used to estimate the f(RH)amb during dry conditions (RHBL < 55%).


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélien Chauvigné ◽  
Karine Sellegri ◽  
Maxime Hervo ◽  
Nadège Montoux ◽  
Patrick Freville ◽  
...  

Abstract. Aerosols influence the Earth radiative budget through scattering and absorption of solar radiation. Several methods are used to investigate aerosol properties and thus quantify their direct and indirect impacts on climate. At the Puy de Dôme station, continuous high altitude near surface in-situ measurements and low altitude ground-based remote sensing atmospheric column measurements give the opportunity to compare the aerosol extinction measured with both methods over a one year period. To our knowledge, it is the first time that such a comparison is realized with continuous measurements of a high altitude site during a long term period. This comparison addresses to which extend near surface in-situ measurements are representative of the whole atmospheric column, the aerosol Mixing Layer (ML), or the Free Troposphere (FT). In particular, the impact of multi aerosol layers events detected using LIDAR backscatter profiles is analysed. A good correlation between in-situ aerosol extinction coefficient and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) measured by the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Sun photometer is observed with a correlation coefficient around 0.80, indicating that the in-situ measurements station is representative of the overall atmospheric column. After filtering for multilayer cases and correcting for each layer optical contribution (ML and FT), the atmospheric structure seems to be the main factor influencing the comparison between the two measurement techniques. When the site lies in the ML, the in-situ extinction represents 45 % of the Sun photometer ML extinction while when the site lies within the FT, the in-situ extinction is more than two times higher than the FT Sun photometer extinction. Remote sensing retrievals of the aerosol particle size distributions (PSD) from the Sun photometer observations are then compared to the near surface in-situ measurements, at dry and at ambient relative humidities. When in-situ measurements are considered at dry state, the in-situ fine mode diameters are 44 % higher than the Sun photometer-retrieved diameters and in-situ volume concentrations are 20 % lower than of the Sun photometer-retrieved fine mode concentration. Using a parametrised hygroscopic growth factor applied to aerosol diameters, the difference between in-situ and retrieved diameters grows larger. Coarse mode in-situ diameter and concentrations show a good correlation with retrieved particle size distributions from remote sensing.


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