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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Four-dimensional distribution of the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic cloud over Europe observed by EARLINET
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2013) Pappalardo, G.; Mona, L.; D'Amico, G.; Wandinger, U.; Adam, M.; Amodeo, A.; Ansmann, A.; Apituley, A.; Alados Arboledas, L.; Balis, D.; Boselli, A.; Bravo-Aranda, J.A.; Chaikovsky, A.; Comeron, A.; Cuesta, J.; De Tomasi, F.; Freudenthaler, V.; Gausa, M.; Giannakaki, E.; Giehl, H.; Giunta, A.; Grigorov, I.; Groß, S.; Haeffelin, M.; Hiebsch, A.; Iarlori, M.; Lange, D.; Linné, H.; Madonna, F.; Mattis, I.; Mamouri, R.-E.; McAuliffe, M.A.P.; Mitev, V.; Molero, F.; Navas-Guzman, F.; Nicolae, D.; Papayannis, A.; Perrone, M.R.; Pietras, C.; Pietruczuk, A.; Pisani, G.; Preißler, J.; Pujadas, M.; Rizi, V.; Ruth, A.A.; Schmidt, J.; Schnell, F.; Seifert, P.; Serikov, I.; Sicard, M.; Simeonov, V.; Spinelli, N.; Stebel, K.; Tesche, M.; Trickl, T.; Wang, X.; Wagner, F.; Wiegner, M.; Wilson, K.M.
    The eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull in April–May 2010 represents a "natural experiment" to study the impact of volcanic emissions on a continental scale. For the first time, quantitative data about the presence, altitude, and layering of the volcanic cloud, in conjunction with optical information, are available for most parts of Europe derived from the observations by the European Aerosol Research Lidar NETwork (EARLINET). Based on multi-wavelength Raman lidar systems, EARLINET is the only instrument worldwide that is able to provide dense time series of high-quality optical data to be used for aerosol typing and for the retrieval of particle microphysical properties as a function of altitude. In this work we show the four-dimensional (4-D) distribution of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic cloud in the troposphere over Europe as observed by EARLINET during the entire volcanic event (15 April–26 May 2010). All optical properties directly measured (backscatter, extinction, and particle linear depolarization ratio) are stored in the EARLINET database available at http://www.earlinet.org. A specific relational database providing the volcanic mask over Europe, realized ad hoc for this specific event, has been developed and is available on request at http://www.earlinet.org. During the first days after the eruption, volcanic particles were detected over Central Europe within a wide range of altitudes, from the upper troposphere down to the local planetary boundary layer (PBL). After 19 April 2010, volcanic particles were detected over southern and south-eastern Europe. During the first half of May (5–15 May), material emitted by the Eyjafjallajökull volcano was detected over Spain and Portugal and then over the Mediterranean and the Balkans. The last observations of the event were recorded until 25 May in Central Europe and in the Eastern Mediterranean area. The 4-D distribution of volcanic aerosol layering and optical properties on European scale reported here provides an unprecedented data set for evaluating satellite data and aerosol dispersion models for this kind of volcanic events.
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    EARLINET: Potential operationality of a research network
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2015) Sicard, M.; D'Amico, G.; Comerón, A.; Mona, L.; Alados-Arboledas, L.; Amodeo, A.; Baars, H.; Baldasano, J.M.; Belegante, L.; Binietoglou, I.; Bravo-Aranda, J.A.; Fernández, A.J.; Fréville, P.; García-Vizcaíno, D.; Giunta, A.; Granados-Muñoz, M.J.; Guerrero-Rascado, J.L.; Hadjimitsis, D.; Haefele, A.; Hervo, M.; Iarlori, M.; Kokkalis, P.; Lange, D.; Mamouri, R.E.; Mattis, I.; Molero, F.; Montoux, N.; Muñoz, A.; Muñoz Porcar, C.; Navas-Guzmán, F.; Nicolae, D.; Nisantzi, A.; Papagiannopoulos, N.; Papayannis, A.; Pereira, S.; Preißler, J.; Pujadas, M.; Rizi, V.; Rocadenbosch, F.; Sellegri, K.; Simeonov, V.; Tsaknakis, G.; Wagner, F.; Pappalardo, G.
    In the framework of ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure Network) summer 2012 measurement campaign (8 June–17 July 2012), EARLINET organized and performed a controlled exercise of feasibility to demonstrate its potential to perform operational, coordinated measurements and deliver products in near-real time. Eleven lidar stations participated in the exercise which started on 9 July 2012 at 06:00 UT and ended 72 h later on 12 July at 06:00 UT. For the first time, the single calculus chain (SCC) – the common calculus chain developed within EARLINET for the automatic evaluation of lidar data from raw signals up to the final products – was used. All stations sent in real-time measurements of a 1 h duration to the SCC server in a predefined netcdf file format. The pre-processing of the data was performed in real time by the SCC, while the optical processing was performed in near-real time after the exercise ended. 98 and 79 % of the files sent to SCC were successfully pre-processed and processed, respectively. Those percentages are quite large taking into account that no cloud screening was performed on the lidar data. The paper draws present and future SCC users' attention to the most critical parameters of the SCC product configuration and their possible optimal value but also to the limitations inherent to the raw data. The continuous use of SCC direct and derived products in heterogeneous conditions is used to demonstrate two potential applications of EARLINET infrastructure: the monitoring of a Saharan dust intrusion event and the evaluation of two dust transport models. The efforts made to define the measurements protocol and to configure properly the SCC pave the way for applying this protocol for specific applications such as the monitoring of special events, atmospheric modeling, climate research and calibration/validation activities of spaceborne observations.
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    A methodology for investigating dust model performance using synergistic EARLINET/AERONET dust concentration retrievals
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2015) Binietoglou, I.; Basart, S.; Alados-Arboledas, L.; Amiridis, V.; Argyrouli, A.; Baars, H.; Baldasano, J.M.; Balis, D.; Belegante, L.; Bravo-Aranda, J.A.; Burlizzi, P.; Carrasco, V.; Chaikovsky, A.; Comerón, A.; D'Amico, G.; Filioglou, M.; Granados-Muñoz, M.J.; Haefele, A.; Hervo, M.; Iarlori, M.; Kokkalis, P.; Lange, D.; Mamouri, R.E.; Mattis, I.; Molero, F.; Montoux, N.; Muñoz, A.; Muñoz Porcar, C.; Navas-Guzmán, F.; Nicolae, D.; Nisantzi, A.; Papagiannopoulos, N.; Papayannis, A.; Pereira, S.; Preißler, J.; Pujadas, M.; Rizi, V.; Rocadenbosch, F.; Sellegri, K.; Simeonov, V.; Tsaknakis, G.; Wagner, F.; Pappalardo, G.
    Systematic measurements of dust concentration profiles at a continental scale were recently made possible by the development of synergistic retrieval algorithms using combined lidar and sun photometer data and the establishment of robust remote-sensing networks in the framework of Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network (ACTRIS)/European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET). We present a methodology for using these capabilities as a tool for examining the performance of dust transport models. The methodology includes considerations for the selection of a suitable data set and appropriate metrics for the exploration of the results. The approach is demonstrated for four regional dust transport models (BSC-DREAM8b v2, NMMB/BSC-DUST, DREAMABOL, DREAM8-NMME-MACC) using dust observations performed at 10 ACTRIS/EARLINET stations. The observations, which include coincident multi-wavelength lidar and sun photometer measurements, were processed with the Lidar-Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) to retrieve aerosol concentration profiles. The methodology proposed here shows advantages when compared to traditional evaluation techniques that utilize separately the available measurements such as separating the contribution of dust from other aerosol types on the lidar profiles and avoiding model assumptions related to the conversion of concentration fields to aerosol extinction values. When compared to LIRIC retrievals, the simulated dust vertical structures were found to be in good agreement for all models with correlation values between 0.5 and 0.7 in the 1–6 km range, where most dust is typically observed. The absolute dust concentration was typically underestimated with mean bias values of -40 to -20 μg m−3 at 2 km, the altitude of maximum mean concentration. The reported differences among the models found in this comparison indicate the benefit of the systematic use of the proposed approach in future dust model evaluation studies.
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    EARLINET: 12-year of aerosol profiling over Europe
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2016) Mona, L.; Alados Arboledas, L.; Amiridis, V.; Amodeo, A.; Apituley, A.; Balis, D.; Comeron, A.; Iarlori, M.; Linné, H.; Nicolae, D.; Papayannis, A.; Perrone, M.R.; Rizi, V.; Siomos, N.; Wandinger, U.; Wang, X.; Pappalardo, G.
    EARLINET has been collecting high quality aerosol optical profiles over Europe since 2000. The comparison with automatic collected dataset of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from AERONET and MODIS demonstrates the effectiveness of EARLINET regular measurement schedule for climatological studies. The analysis of optical properties in the local boundary layer indicates that the general decrease of AOD observed by different platforms over Europe in the last decade could be due to the modification of aerosol properties (towards less absorbing and larger particles) in the lower troposphere.
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    Overview: Tropospheric profiling: State of the art and future challenges - Introduction to the AMT special issue
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2014) Cimini, D.; Rizi, V.; Di Girolamo, P.; Marzano, F.S.; Macke, A.; Pappalardo, G.; Richter, A.
    This paper introduces the Atmospheric Measurement Techniques special issue on tropospheric profiling, which was conceived to host full papers presenting the results shown at the 9th International Symposium on Tropospheric Profiling (ISTP9). ISTP9 was held in L'Aquila (Italy) from 3 to 7 September 2012, bringing together 150 scientists representing of 28 countries and 3 continents. The tropospheric profiling special issue collects the highlights of ISTP9, reporting recent advances and future challenges in research and technology development.
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    EARLINET observations of the 14-22-May long-range dust transport event during SAMUM 2006: Validation of results from dust transport modelling
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Müller, D.; Heinold, B.; Tesche, M.; Tegen, I.; Althausen, D.; Alados Arboledas, L.; Amiridis, V.; Amodeo, A.; Ansmann, A.; Balis, D.; Comeron, A.; D’mico, G.; Gerasopoulos, E.; Guerrero-Rascado, J.L.; Freudenthaler, V.; Giannakaki, E.; Heese, B.; Iarlori, M.; Knippertz, P.; Mamouri, R.E.; Mona, L.; Papayannis, A.; Pappalardo, G.; Perrone, R-M.; Pisani, G.; Rizi, V.; Sicard, M.; Spinelli, N.; Tafuro, A.; Wiegner, M.
    We observed a long-range transport event of mineral dust from North Africa to South Europe during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) 2006. Geometrical and optical properties of that dust plume were determined with Sun photometer of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and Raman lidar near the North African source region, and with Sun photometers of AERONET and lidars of the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) in the far field in Europe. Extinction-to-backscatter ratios of the dust plume over Morocco and Southern Europe do not differ. Ångstr¨om exponents increase with distance from Morocco. We simulated the transport, and geometrical and optical properties of the dust plume with a dust transport model. The model results and the experimental data show similar times regarding the appearance of the dust plume over each EARLINET site. Dust optical depth from the model agrees in most cases to particle optical depth measured with the Sun photometers. The vertical distribution of the mineral dust could be satisfactorily reproduced, if we use as benchmark the extinction profiles measured with lidar. In some cases we find differences. We assume that insufficient vertical resolution of the dust plume in the model calculations is one reason for these deviations.