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Now showing 1 - 10 of 49
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    Measurements of particle backscatter, extinction, and lidar ratio at 1064 nm with the rotational raman method in Polly-XT
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2018) Engelmann, Ronny; Haarig, Moritz; Baars, Holger; Ansmann, Albert; Kottas, Michael; Marinou, Eleni; Nicolae, D.; Makoto, A.; Vassilis, A.; Balis, D.; Behrendt, A.; Comeron, A.; Gibert, F.; Landulfo, E.; McCormick, M.P.; Senff, C.; Veselovskii, I.; Wandinger, U.
    We replaced a 1064-nm interference filter of a Polly-XT lidar system by a 1058-nm filter to observe pure rotational Raman backscattering from atmospheric Nitrogen and Oxygen. Polly-XT is compact Raman lidar with a Nd:YAG laser (20 Hz, 200 mJ at 1064 nm) and a 30-cm telescope mirror which applies photomultipliers in photoncounting mode. We present the first measured signals at 1058 nm and the derived extinction profile from measurements aboard RV Polarstern and in Leipzig. In combination with another Polly-XT system we could also derive particle backscatter and lidar ratio profiles at 1064 nm.
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    Experimental assessment of a micro-pulse lidar system in comparison with reference lidar measurements for aerosol optical properties retrieval
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : European Geosciences Union, 2021) Córdoba-Jabonero, Carmen; Ansmann, Albert; Jiménez, Cristofer; Baars, Holger; López-Cayuela, María-Ángeles; Engelmann, Ronny
    Simultaneous observations of a polarized micro-pulse lidar (P-MPL) system and two reference European Aerosol Research Lidar Network lidars running at the Leipzig site Germany, 51.4g gN, 12.4g gE; 125gmga.s.l.) were performed during a comprehensive 2-month field intercomparison campaign in summer 2019. An experimental assessment regarding both the overlap (OVP) correction of the P-MPL signal profiles and the volume linear depolarization ratio (VLDR) analysis, together with its impact on the retrieval of the aerosol optical properties, is achieved; the experimental procedure used is also described. The optimal lidar-specific OVP function is experimentally determined, highlighting that the one delivered by the P-MPL manufacturer cannot be used long. Among the OVP functions examined, the averaged function between those obtained from the comparison of the P-MPL observations with those of the other two reference lidars seems to be the best proxy at both near- and far-field ranges. In addition, the impact of the OVP function on the accuracy of the retrieved profiles of the total particle backscatter coefficient (PBC) and the particle linear depolarization ratio (PLDR) is examined. The VLDR profile is obtained and compared with that derived from the reference lidar, showing that it needs to be corrected by a small offset value with good accuracy. Once P-MPL measurements are optimally (OVP, VLDR) corrected, both the PBC and PLDR profiles can be accurately derived and are in good agreement with reference aerosol retrievals. Overall, as a systematic requirement for lidar systems, an adequate OVP function determination and VLDR testing analysis needs to be performed on a regular basis to correct the P-MPL measurements in order to derive suitable aerosol products. A dust event observed in Leipzig in June 2019 is used for illustration.
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    Target categorization of aerosol and clouds by continuous multiwavelength-polarization lidar measurements
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : Copernicus, 2017) Baars, Holger; Seifert, Patric; Engelmann, Ronny; Wandinger, Ulla
    Absolute calibrated signals at 532 and 1064 nm and the depolarization ratio from a multiwavelength lidar are used to categorize primary aerosol but also clouds in high temporal and spatial resolution. Automatically derived particle backscatter coefficient profiles in low temporal resolution (30 min) are applied to calibrate the lidar signals. From these calibrated lidar signals, new atmospheric parameters in temporally high resolution (quasi-particle-backscatter coefficients) are derived. By using thresholds obtained from multiyear, multisite EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) measurements, four aerosol classes (small; large, spherical; large, non-spherical; mixed, partly nonspherical) and several cloud classes (liquid, ice) are defined. Thus, particles are classified by their physical features (shape and size) instead of by source. The methodology is applied to 2 months of continuous observations (24 h a day, 7 days a week) with the multiwavelength-Raman-polarization lidar PollyXT during the High-Definition Clouds and Precipitation for advancing Climate Prediction (HD(CP)2) Observational Prototype Experiment (HOPE) in spring 2013. Cloudnet equipment was operated continuously directly next to the lidar and is used for comparison. By discussing three 24 h case studies, it is shown that the aerosol discrimination is very feasible and informative and gives a good complement to the Cloudnet target categorization. Performing the categorization for the 2-month data set of the entire HOPE campaign, almost 1 million pixel (5 min×30 m) could be analysed with the newly developed tool. We find that the majority of the aerosol trapped in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) was composed of small particles as expected for a heavily populated and industrialized area. Large, spherical aerosol was observed mostly at the top of the PBL and close to the identified cloud bases, indicating the importance of hygroscopic growth of the particles at high relative humidity. Interestingly, it is found that on several days non-spherical particles were dispersed from the ground into the atmosphere.
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    CADEX and beyond: Installation of a new PollyXT site in Dushanbe
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2019) Engelmann, Ronny; Hofer, Julian; Makhmudov, Abduvosit N.; Baars, Holger; Hanbuch, Karsten; Ansmann, Albert; Abdullaev, Sabur F.; Macke, Andreas; Althausen, Dietrich
    During the 18-month Central Asian Dust Experiment we conducted continuous lidar measurements at the Physical Technical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan in Dushanbe between 2015 and 2016. Mineral dust plumes from various source regions have been observed and characterized in terms of their occurrence, and their optical and microphysical properties with the Raman lidar PollyXT. Currently a new container-based lidar system is constructed which will be installed for continuous long-term measurements in Dushanbe. © 2019 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.
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    Lidar Measurements of Canadian Forest Fire Smoke Episode Observed in July 2013 over Warsaw, Poland
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2016) Janicka, Lucja; Stachlewska, Iwona S.; Markowicz, Krzysztof M.; Baars, Holger; Engelmann, Ronny; Heese, Birgit; Gross, Barry; Moshary, F.; Arend, M.
    This paper presents a preliminary study of aerosol optical properties of air-mass advected on 10th July 2013 from Canada above Warsaw, Poland, during the forest fire event that occurred in Quebec at the beginning of July 2013. The observations were conducted with use of the modern version of 8-channel PollyXT lidar capable of measuring at 3β+2α+2δ+VW and interpreted with available information from the MACC model, the CALIPSO and MODIS satellite sensors, the AERONET data products and the data gathered within the Poland-AOD network.
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    Free tropospheric aerosols over South Africa
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2016) Elina, Giannakaki; Pfüller, Anne; Korhonen, Kimmo; Mielonen, Tero; Laakso, Lauri; Vakkari, Ville; Baars, Holger; Engelmann, Ronny; Beukes, Johan P.; Van Zyl, Pieter G.; Josipovic, Miroslav; Tiitta, Petri; Chiloane, Kgaugelo; Piketh, Stuart; Lihavainen, Heikki; Lehtinen, Kari
    Raman lidar data of one year was been analyzed to obtain information relating aerosol layers in the free troposphere over South Africa, Elandsfontein. In total, 375 layers were observed above the boundary layer during the period 30th January 2010 – 31st January 2011. The seasonal behavior of aerosol layer geometrical characteristics as well as intensive and extensive optical properties were studied. In general, layers were observed at higher altitudes during spring (2520 ± 970 m) while the geometrical layer depth did not show any significant seasonal dependence. The variations of most of the intensive and extensive optical properties analyzed were high during all seasons. Layers were observed at mean altitude of 2100 m ± 1000 m with lidar ratio at 355 nm of 67 ± 25 and extinction-related Ångström exponent between 355 and 532 nm of 1.9 ± 0.8.
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    An overview of the first decade of PollyNET: An emerging network of automated Raman-polarization lidars for continuous aerosol profiling
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2016) Baars, Holger; Kanitz, Thomas; Engelmann, Ronny; Althausen, Dietrich; Heese, Birgit; Komppula, Mika; Preißler, Jana; Tesche, Matthias; Ansmann, Albert; Wandinger, Ulla; Lim, Jae-Hyun; Ahn, Joon Young; Stachlewska, Iwona S.; Amiridis, Vassilis; Marinou, Eleni; Seifert, Patric; Hofer, Julian; Skupin, Annett; Schneider, Florian; Bohlmann, Stephanie; Foth, Andreas; Bley, Sebastian; Pfüller, Anne; Giannakaki, Eleni; Lihavainen, Heikki; Viisanen, Yrjö; Hooda, Rakesh Kumar; Pereira, Sérgio Nepomuceno; Bortol, Daniele; Wagner, Frank; Mattis, Ina; Janicka, Lucja; Markowicz, Krzysztof M.; Achtert, Peggy; Artaxo, Paulo; Pauliquevis, Theotonio; Souza, Rodrigo A.F.; Sharma, Ved Prakesh; van Zyl, Pieter Gideon; Beukes, Johan Paul; Sun, Junying; Rohwer, Erich G.; Deng, Ruru; Mamouri, Rodanthi-Elisavet; Zamorano, Felix
    A global vertically resolved aerosol data set covering more than 10 years of observations at more than 20 measurement sites distributed from 63° N to 52° S and 72° W to 124° E has been achieved within the Raman and polarization lidar network PollyNET. This network consists of portable, remote-controlled multiwavelength-polarization-Raman lidars (Polly) for automated and continuous 24/7 observations of clouds and aerosols. PollyNET is an independent, voluntary, and scientific network. All Polly lidars feature a standardized instrument design with different capabilities ranging from single wavelength to multiwavelength systems, and now apply unified calibration, quality control, and data analysis. The observations are processed in near-real time without manual intervention, and are presented online at http://polly.tropos.de/. The paper gives an overview of the observations on four continents and two research vessels obtained with eight Polly systems. The specific aerosol types at these locations (mineral dust, smoke, dust-smoke and other dusty mixtures, urban haze, and volcanic ash) are identified by their Ångström exponent, lidar ratio, and depolarization ratio. The vertical aerosol distribution at the PollyNET locations is discussed on the basis of more than 55 000 automatically retrieved 30 min particle backscatter coefficient profiles at 532 nm as this operating wavelength is available for all Polly lidar systems. A seasonal analysis of measurements at selected sites revealed typical and extraordinary aerosol conditions as well as seasonal differences. These studies show the potential of PollyNET to support the establishment of a global aerosol climatology that covers the entire troposphere.
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    Advection of Biomass Burning Aerosols towards the Southern Hemispheric Mid-Latitude Station of Punta Arenas as Observed with Multiwavelength Polarization Raman Lidar
    (Basel : MDPI AG, 2021) Floutsi, Athena Augusta; Baars, Holger; Radenz, Martin; Haarig, Moritz; Yin, Zhenping; Seifert, Patric; Jimenez, Cristofer; Ansmann, Albert; Engelmann, Ronny; Barja, Boris; Zamorano, Felix; Wandinger, Ulla
    In this paper, we present long-term observations of the multiwavelength Raman lidar PollyXT conducted in the framework of the DACAPO-PESO campaign. Regardless of the relatively clean atmosphere in the southern mid-latitude oceans region, we regularly observed events of long-range transported smoke, originating either from regional sources in South America or from Australia. Two case studies will be discussed, both identified as smoke events that occurred on 5 February 2019 and 11 March 2019. For the first case considered, the lofted smoke layer was located at an altitude between 1.0 and 4.2 km, and apart from the predominance of smoke particles, particle linear depolarization values indicated the presence of dust particles. Mean lidar ratio values at 355 and 532 nm were 49 ± 12 and 24 ± 18 sr respectively, while the mean particle linear depolarization was 7.6 ± 3.6% at 532 nm. The advection of smoke and dust particles above Punta Arenas affected significantly the available cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nucleating particles (INP) in the lower troposphere, and effectively triggered the ice crystal formation processes. Regarding the second case, the thin smoke layers were observed at altitudes 5.5–7.0, 9.0 and 11.0 km. The particle linear depolarization ratio at 532 nm increased rapidly with height, starting from 2% for the lowest two layers and increasing up to 9.5% for the highest layer, indicating the possible presence of non-spherical coated soot aggregates. INP activation was effectively facilitated. The long-term analysis of the one year of observations showed that tropospheric smoke advection over Punta Arenas occurred 16 times (lasting from 1 to 17 h), regularly distributed over the period and with high potential to influence cloud formation in the otherwise pristine environment of the region.
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    Wildfire smoke triggers cirrus formation: Lidar observations over the eastern Mediterranean
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2023) Mamouri, Rodanthi-Elisavet; Ansmann, Albert; Ohneiser, Kevin; Knopf, Daniel A.; Nisantzi, Argyro; Bühl, Johannes; Engelmann, Ronny; Skupin, Annett; Seifert, Patric; Baars, Holger; Ene, Dragos; Wandinger, Ulla; Hadjimitsis, Diofantos
    The number of intense wildfires may increase further in upcoming years as a consequence of climate change. It is therefore necessary to improve our knowledge about the role of smoke in the climate system, with emphasis on the impact of smoke particles on the evolution of clouds, precipitation, and cloud radiative properties. Presently, one key aspect of research is whether or not wildfire smoke particles can initiate cirrus formation. In this study, we present lidar observations over Limassol, Cyprus, from 27 October to 3 November 2020, when extended wildfire smoke fields crossed the Mediterranean Basin from Portugal to Cyprus. We found strong evidence that aged smoke (organic aerosol particles) originating from wildfires in North America triggered significant ice nucleation at temperatures from -47 to -53° C and caused the formation of extended cirrus layers. The observations suggest that the ice crystals were nucleated just below the tropopause in the presence of smoke particles serving as ice-nucleating particles (INPs). The main part of the 2-3km thick smoke layer was, however, in the lower stratosphere just above the tropopause. With actual radiosonde observations of temperature and relative humidity and lidar-derived smoke particle surface area concentrations used as starting values, gravity wave simulations show that the lofting of air by 100-200m is sufficient to initiate significant ice nucleation on the smoke particles, leading to ice crystal number concentrations of 1-100L-1.
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    Mineral dust in Central Asia: Combining lidar and other measurements during the Central Asian dust experiment (CADEX)
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2018) Althausen, Dietrich; Hofer, Julian; Abdullaev, Sabur; Makhmudov, Abduvosit; Baars, Holger; Engelmann, Ronny; Wadinga Fomba, Khanneh; Müller, Konrad; Schettler, Georg; Klüser, Lars; Kandler, Konrad; Nicolae, D.; Makoto, A.; Vassilis, A.; Balis, D.; Behrendt, A.; Comeron, A.; Gibert, F.; Landulfo, E.; McCormick, M.P.; Senff, C.; Veselovskii, I.; Wandinger, U.
    Mineral dust needs to be characterized comprehensively since it contributes to the climate change in Tajikistan / Central Asia. Lidar results from the measurements of mineral dust during CADEX are compared with results of sun photometer measurements, satellite-based measurements, and chemical analysis of ground samples. Although the dust is often advected from far-range sources, it impacts on the local conditions considerably.