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- ItemAerosol optical properties in the southeastern United States in summer - Part 2: Sensitivity of aerosol optical depth to relative humidity and aerosol parameters(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2016) Brock, Charles A.; Wagner, Nicholas L.; Anderson, Bruce E.; Attwood, Alexis R.; Beyersdorf, Andreas; Campuzano-Jost, Pedro; Carlton, Annmarie G.; Day, Douglas A.; Diskin, Glenn S.; Gordon, Timothy D.; Jimenez, Jose L.; Lack, Daniel A.; Liao, Jin; Markovic, Milos Z.; Middlebrook, Ann M.; Ng, Nga L.; Perring, Anne E.; Richardson, Matthews S.; Schwarz, Joshua P.; Washenfelder, Rebecca A.; Welti, Andre; Xu, Lu; Ziemba, Luke D.; Murphy, Daniel M.Aircraft observations of meteorological, trace gas, and aerosol properties were made between May and September 2013 in the southeastern United States (US). Regionally representative aggregate vertical profiles of median and interdecile ranges of the measured parameters were constructed from 37 individual aircraft profiles made in the afternoon when a well-mixed boundary layer with typical fair-weather cumulus was present (Wagner et al., 2015). We use these 0–4 km aggregate profiles and a simple model to calculate the sensitivity of aerosol optical depth (AOD) to changes in dry aerosol mass, relative humidity, mixed-layer height, the central diameter and width of the particle size distribution, hygroscopicity, and dry and wet refractive index, while holding the other parameters constant. The calculated sensitivity is a result of both the intrinsic sensitivity and the observed range of variation in these parameters. These observationally based sensitivity studies indicate that the relationship between AOD and dry aerosol mass in these conditions in the southeastern US can be highly variable and is especially sensitive to relative humidity (RH). For example, calculated AOD ranged from 0.137 to 0.305 as the RH was varied between the 10th and 90th percentile profiles with dry aerosol mass held constant. Calculated AOD was somewhat less sensitive to aerosol hygroscopicity, mean size, and geometric standard deviation, σg. However, some chemistry–climate models prescribe values of σg substantially larger than we or others observe, leading to potential high biases in model-calculated AOD of ∼ 25 %. Finally, AOD was least sensitive to observed variations in dry and wet aerosol refractive index and to changes in the height of the well-mixed surface layer. We expect these findings to be applicable to other moderately polluted and background continental air masses in which an accumulation mode between 0.1–0.5 µm diameter dominates aerosol extinction.
- ItemRemote sensing and modelling analysis of the extreme dust storm hitting the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean in September 2015(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2017) Solomos, Stavros; Ansmann, Albert; Mamouri, Rodanthi-Elisavet; Binietoglou, Ioannis; Patlakas, Platon; Marinou, Eleni; Amiridis, VassilisThe extreme dust storm that affected the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean in September 2015 resulted in record-breaking dust loads over Cyprus with aerosol optical depth exceeding 5.0 at 550ĝ€nm. We analyse this event using profiles from the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) and the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO), geostationary observations from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI), and high-resolution simulations from the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). The analysis of modelling and remote sensing data reveals the main mechanisms that resulted in the generation and persistence of the dust cloud over the Middle East and Cyprus. A combination of meteorological and surface processes is found, including (a) the development of a thermal low in the area of Syria that results in unstable atmospheric conditions and dust mobilization in this area, (b) the convective activity over northern Iraq that triggers the formation of westward-moving haboobs that merge with the previously elevated dust layer, and (c) the changes in land use due to war in the areas of northern Iraq and Syria that enhance dust erodibility.
- ItemSatellite retrievals of dust aerosol over the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf (2005-2015)(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2017) Banks, Jamie R.; Brindley, Helen E.; Stenchikov, Georgiy; Schepanski, KerstinThe inter-annual variability of the dust aerosol presence over the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf is analysed over the period 2005-2015. Particular attention is paid to the variation in loading across the Red Sea, which has previously been shown to have a strong, seasonally dependent latitudinal gradient. Over the 11 years considered, the July mean 630 nm aerosol optical depth (AOD) derived from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) varies between 0.48 and 1.45 in the southern half of the Red Sea. In the north, the equivalent variation is between 0.22 and 0.66. The temporal and spatial pattern of variability captured by SEVIRI is also seen in AOD retrievals from the MODerate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), but there is a systematic offset between the two records. Comparisons of both sets of retrievals with ship-and land-based AERONET measurements show a high degree of correlation with biases of <0.08. However, these comparisons typically only sample relatively low aerosol loadings. When both records are stratified by AOD retrievals from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), opposing behaviour is revealed at high MISR AODs (>1), with offsets of C0.19 for MODIS and 0.06 for SEVIRI. Similar behaviour is also seen over the Persian Gulf. Analysis of the scattering angles at which retrievals from the SEVIRI and MODIS measurements are typically performed in these regions suggests that assumptions concerning particle sphericity may be responsible for the differences seen.
- ItemEARLINET evaluation of the CATS Level 2 aerosol backscatter coefficient product(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2019) Proestakis, Emmanouil; Amiridis, Vassilis; Marinou, Eleni; Binietoglou, Ioannis; Ansmann, Albert; Wandinger, Ulla; Hofer, Julian; Yorks, John; Nowottnick, Edward; Makhmudov, Abduvosit; Papayannis, Alexandros; Pietruczuk, Aleksander; Gialitaki, Anna; Apituley, Arnoud; Szkop, Artur; Muñoz Porcar, Constantino; Bortoli, Daniele; Dionisi, Davide; Althausen, Dietrich; Mamali, Dimitra; Balis, Dimitris; Nicolae, Doina; Tetoni, Eleni; Liberti, Gian Luigi; Baars, Holger; Mattis, Ina; Stachlewska, Iwona Sylwia; Voudouri, Kalliopi Artemis; Mona, Lucia; Mylonaki, Maria; Perrone, Maria Rita; Costa, Maria João; Sicard, Michael; Papagiannopoulos, Nikolaos; Siomos, Nikolaos; Burlizzi, Pasquale; Pauly, Rebecca; Engelmann, Ronny; Abdullaev, Sabur; Pappalardo, GelsominaWe present the evaluation activity of the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) for the quantitative assessment of the Level 2 aerosol backscatter coefficient product derived by the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) aboard the International Space Station (ISS; Rodier et al., 2015). The study employs correlative CATS and EARLINET backscatter measurements within a 50km distance between the ground station and the ISS overpass and as close in time as possible, typically with the starting time or stopping time of the EARLINET performed measurement time window within 90min of the ISS overpass, for the period from February 2015 to September 2016. The results demonstrate the good agreement of the CATS Level 2 backscatter coefficient and EARLINET. Three ISS overpasses close to the EARLINET stations of Leipzig, Germany; Évora, Portugal; and Dushanbe, Tajikistan, are analyzed here to demonstrate the performance of the CATS lidar system under different conditions. The results show that under cloud-free, relative homogeneous aerosol conditions, CATS is in good agreement with EARLINET, independent of daytime and nighttime conditions. CATS low negative biases are observed, partially attributed to the deficiency of lidar systems to detect tenuous aerosol layers of backscatter signal below the minimum detection thresholds; these are biases which may lead to systematic deviations and slight underestimations of the total aerosol optical depth (AOD) in climate studies. In addition, CATS misclassification of aerosol layers as clouds, and vice versa, in cases of coexistent and/or adjacent aerosol and cloud features, occasionally leads to non-representative, unrealistic, and cloud-contaminated aerosol profiles. Regarding solar illumination conditions, low negative biases in CATS backscatter coefficient profiles, of the order of 6.1%, indicate the good nighttime performance of CATS. During daytime, a reduced signal-to-noise ratio by solar background illumination prevents retrievals of weakly scattering atmospheric layers that would otherwise be detectable during nighttime, leading to higher negative biases, of the order of 22.3%. © Author(s) 2019.
- ItemParticulate sulfur in the upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere - Sources and climate forcing(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2017) Martinsson, Bengt G.; Friberg, Johan; Sandvik, Oscar S.; Hermann, Markus; van Velthoven, Peter F. J.; Zahn, AndreasThis study is based on fine-mode aerosol samples collected in the upper troposphere (UT) and the lowermost stratosphere (LMS) of the Northern Hemisphere extratropics during monthly intercontinental flights at 8.8-12 km altitude of the IAGOS-CARIBIC platform in the time period 1999-2014. The samples were analyzed for a large number of chemical elements using the accelerator-based methods PIXE (particle-induced X-ray emission) and PESA (particle elastic scattering analysis). Here the particulate sulfur concentrations, obtained by PIXE analysis, are investigated. In addition, the satellite-borne lidar aboard CALIPSO is used to study the stratospheric aerosol load. A steep gradient in particulate sulfur concentration extends several kilometers into the LMS, as a result of increasing dilution towards the tropopause of stratospheric, particulate sulfur-rich air. The stratospheric air is diluted with tropospheric air, forming the extratropical transition layer (ExTL). Observed concentrations are related to the distance to the dynamical tropopause. A linear regression methodology handled seasonal variation and impact from volcanism. This was used to convert each data point into stand-alone estimates of a concentration profile and column concentration of particulate sulfur in a 3 km altitude band above the tropopause. We find distinct responses to volcanic eruptions, and that this layer in the LMS has a significant contribution to the stratospheric aerosol optical depth and thus to its radiative forcing. Further, the origin of UT particulate sulfur shows strong seasonal variation. We find that tropospheric sources dominate during the fall as a result of downward transport of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL) formed in the Asian monsoon, whereas transport down from the Junge layer is the main source of UT particulate sulfur in the first half of the year. In this latter part of the year, the stratosphere is the clearly dominating source of particulate sulfur in the UT during times of volcanic influence and under background conditions.
- ItemContinuous vertical aerosol profiling with a multi-wavelength Raman polarization lidar over the Pearl River Delta, China(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2017) Heese, Birgit; Baars, Holger; Bohlmann, Stephanie; Althausen, Dietrich; Deng, RuruA dataset of particle optical properties of the highly polluted atmosphere over the Pearl River Delta (PRD), Guangzhou, China, is presented in this paper. The data were derived from the measurements of a multiwavelength Raman and depolarization lidar PollyXT and a co-located AERONET sun photometer. The measurement campaign was conducted from November 2011 to mid-June 2012. These are the first Raman lidar measurements in the PRD that lasted for several months. A mean value of aerosol optical depth (AOD) of 0.54±0.33 was observed by the sun photometer at 500 nm in the polluted atmosphere over this megacity for the whole measurement period. The lidar profiles frequently show lofted aerosol layers, which reach altitudes of up to 2 to 3 km and, especially during the spring season, up to 5 km. These layers contain between 12 and 56% of the total AOD, with the highest values in spring. The aerosol types in these lofted layers are classified by their optical properties. The observed lidar ratio values range from 30 to 80 sr with a mean value of 48.0±10.7 sr at 532 nm. The linear particle depolarization ratio at 532 nm lies mostly below 5 %, with a mean value of 3.6±3.7 %. The majority of the Ångström exponents lie between 0.5 and 1.5, indicating a mixture of fine- and coarsemode aerosols. These results reveal that mostly urban pollution particles mixed with particles produced from biomass and industrial burning are present in the atmosphere above the Pearl River Delta. Trajectory analyses show that these pollution mixtures arise mainly from local and regional sources.
- ItemSun photometer retrievals of Saharan dust properties over Barbados during SALTRACE(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2019) Toledano, Carlos; Torres, Benjamín; Velasco-Merino, Cristian; Althausen, Dietrich; Groß, Silke; Wiegner, Matthias; Weinzierl, Bernadett; Gasteiger, Josef; Ansmann, Albert; González, Ramiro; Mateos, David; Farrel, David; Müller, Thomas; Haarig, Moritz; Cachorro, Victoria E.The Saharan Aerosol Long-Range Transport and Aerosol-Cloud-Interaction Experiment (SALTRACE) was devoted to the investigation of Saharan dust properties over the Caribbean. The campaign took place in June-July 2013. A wide set of ground-based and airborne aerosol instrumentation was deployed at the island of Barbados for a comprehensive experiment. Several sun photometers performed measurements during this campaign: two AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) Cimel sun photometers and the Sun and Sky Automatic Radiometer (SSARA). The sun photometers were co-located with the ground-based multi-wavelength lidars BERTHA (Backscatter Extinction lidar Ratio Temperature Humidity profiling Apparatus) and POLIS (Portable Lidar System). Aerosol properties derived from direct sun and sky radiance observations are analyzed, and a comparison with the co-located lidar and in situ data is provided. The time series of aerosol optical depth (AOD) allows identifying successive dust events with short periods in between in which the marine background conditions were observed. The moderate aerosol optical depth in the range of 0.3 to 0.6 was found during the dust periods. The sun photometer infrared channel at the 1640nm wavelength was used in the retrieval to investigate possible improvements to aerosol size retrievals, and it was expected to have a larger sensitivity to coarse particles. The comparison between column (aerosol optical depth) and surface (dust concentration) data demonstrates the connection between the Saharan Air Layer and the boundary layer in the Caribbean region, as is shown by the synchronized detection of the successive dust events in both datasets. However the differences of size distributions derived from sun photometer data and in situ observations reveal the difficulties in carrying out a column closure study. © 2019 All rights reserved.
- ItemThe sensitivity of the colour of dust in MSG-SEVIRI Desert Dust infrared composite imagery to surface and atmospheric conditions(Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH, 2019) Banks, J.R.; Hünerbein, A.; Heinold, B.; Brindley, H.E.; Deneke, H.; Schepanski, K.Infrared "Desert Dust" composite imagery taken by the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI), onboard the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) series of satellites above the equatorial East Atlantic, has been widely used for more than a decade to identify and track the presence of dust storms from and over the Sahara Desert, the Middle East, and southern Africa. Dust is characterised by distinctive pink colours in the Desert Dust false-colour imagery; however, the precise colour is influenced by numerous environmental properties, such as the surface thermal emissivity and skin temperature, the atmospheric water vapour content, the quantity and height of dust in the atmosphere, and the infrared optical properties of the dust itself. For this paper, simulations of SEVIRI infrared measurements and imagery have been performed using a modelling system, which combines dust concentrations simulated by the aerosol transport model COSMO-MUSCAT (COSMO: COnsortium for Small-scale MOdelling; MUSCAT: MUltiScale Chemistry Aerosol Transport Model) with radiative transfer simulations from the RTTOV (Radiative Transfer for TOVS) model. Investigating the sensitivity of the synthetic infrared imagery to the environmental properties over a 6-month summertime period from 2011 to 2013, it is confirmed that water vapour is a major control on the apparent colour of dust, obscuring its presence when the moisture content is high. Of the three SEVIRI channels used in the imagery (8.7, 10.8, and 12.0 μm), the channel at 10.8 μm has the highest atmospheric transmittance and is therefore the most sensitive to the surface skin temperature. A direct consequence of this sensitivity is that the background desert surface exhibits a strong diurnal cycle in colour, with light blue colours possible during the day and purple hues prevalent at night. In dusty scenes, the clearest pink colours arise from high-altitude dust in dry atmospheres. Elevated dust influences the dust colour primarily by reducing the contrast in atmospheric transmittance above the dust layer between the SEVIRI channels at 10.8 and 12.0 μm, thereby boosting red and pink colours in the imagery. Hence, the higher the dust altitude, the higher the threshold column moisture needed for dust to be obscured in the imagery: for a sample of dust simulated to have an aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm of 2-3 at an altitude of 3-4 km, the characteristic colour of the dust may only be impaired when the total column water vapour is particularly moist ('39 mm). Meanwhile, dust close to the surface (altitude < 1 km) is only likely to be apparent when the atmosphere is particularly dry and when the surface is particularly hot, requiring column moisture/13 mm and skin temperatures '314 K, and is highly unlikely to be apparent when the skin temperature is/300 K. Such low-altitude dust will regularly be almost invisible within the imagery, since it will usually be beneath much of the atmospheric water vapour column. It is clear that the interpretation of satellite-derived dust imagery is greatly aided by knowledge of the background environment.
- ItemAerosol measurements with a shipborne Sun-sky-lunar photometer and collocated multiwavelength Raman polarization lidar over the Atlantic Ocean(Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH, 2019) Yin, Z.; Ansmann, A.; Baars, H.; Seifert, P.; Engelmann, R.; Radenz, M.; Jimenez, C.; Herzog, A.; Ohneiser, K.; Hanbuch, K.; Blarel, L.; Goloub, P.; Victori, S.; Maupin, F.A shipborne Sun-sky-lunar photometer of type CE318-T was tested during two trans-Atlantic cruises aboard the German research vessel Polarstern from 54ĝ N to 54ĝ S in May/June and December 2018. The continuous observations of the motion-stabilized shipborne CE318-T enabled the first-time observation of a full diurnal cycle of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and column-mean Ångström coefficient of a mixed dust-smoke episode. The latitudinal distribution of the AOD from the shipborne CE318-T, Raman lidar and MICROTOPS II shows the same trend with highest values in the dust belt from 0 to 20ĝ N and overall low values in the Southern Hemisphere. The linear-regression coefficients of determination between MICROTOPS II and the CE318-T were 0.988, 0.987, 0.994 and 0.994 for AODs at 380, 440, 500 and 870 nm and 0.896 for the Ångström exponent at 440-870 nm. The root-mean-squared differences of AOD at 380, 440, 500 and 870 nm were 0.015, 0.013, 0.010 and 0.009, respectively.
- ItemMicrophysical characterization of long-range transported biomass burning particles from North America at three EARLINET stations(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2017) Ortiz-Amezcua, Pablo; Guerrero-Rascado, Juan Luis; Granados-Muñoz, María José; Benavent-Oltra, José Antonio; Böckmann, Christine; Samaras, Stefanos; Stachlewska, Iwona S.; Janicka, Łucja; Baars, Holger; Bohlmann, Stephanie; Alados-Arboledas, LucasStrong events of long-range transported biomass burning aerosol were detected during July 2013 at three EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) stations, namely Granada (Spain), Leipzig (Germany) and Warsaw (Poland). Satellite observations from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) instruments, as well as modeling tools such as HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) and NAAPS (Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System), have been used to estimate the sources and transport paths of those North American forest fire smoke particles. A multiwavelength Raman lidar technique was applied to obtain vertically resolved particle optical properties, and further inversion of those properties with a regularization algorithm allowed for retrieving microphysical information on the studied particles. The results highlight the presence of smoke layers of 1-2 km thickness, located at about 5 km a.s.l. altitude over Granada and Leipzig and around 2.5 km a.s.l. at Warsaw. These layers were intense, as they accounted for more than 30 % of the total AOD (aerosol optical depth) in all cases, and presented optical and microphysical features typical for different aging degrees: Color ratio of lidar ratios (LR532/LR355) around 2, α-related ängström exponents of less than 1, effective radii of 0.3 μm and large values of single scattering albedos (SSA), nearly spectrally independent. The intensive microphysical properties were compared with columnar retrievals form co-located AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) stations. The intensity of the layers was also characterized in terms of particle volume concentration, and then an experimental relationship between this magnitude and the particle extinction coefficient was established.