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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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    Climatological and radiative properties of midlatitude cirrus clouds derived by automatic evaluation of lidar measurements
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2016) Kienast-Sjögren, Erika; Rolf, Christian; Seifert, Patric; Krieger, Ulrich K.; Luo, Bei P.; Krämer, Martina; Peter, Thomas
    Cirrus, i.e., high, thin clouds that are fully glaciated, play an important role in the Earth's radiation budget as they interact with both long- and shortwave radiation and affect the water vapor budget of the upper troposphere and stratosphere. Here, we present a climatology of midlatitude cirrus clouds measured with the same type of ground-based lidar at three midlatitude research stations: at the Swiss high alpine Jungfraujoch station (3580 m a.s.l.), in Zürich (Switzerland, 510 m a.s.l.), and in Jülich (Germany, 100 m a.s.l.). The analysis is based on 13 000 h of measurements from 2010 to 2014. To automatically evaluate this extensive data set, we have developed the Fast LIdar Cirrus Algorithm (FLICA), which combines a pixel-based cloud-detection scheme with the classic lidar evaluation techniques. We find mean cirrus optical depths of 0.12 on Jungfraujoch and of 0.14 and 0.17 in Zürich and Jülich, respectively. Above Jungfraujoch, subvisible cirrus clouds (τ < 0.03) have been observed during 6 % of the observation time, whereas above Zürich and Jülich fewer clouds of that type were observed. Cirrus have been observed up to altitudes of 14.4 km a.s.l. above Jungfraujoch, whereas they have only been observed to about 1 km lower at the other stations. These features highlight the advantage of the high-altitude station Jungfraujoch, which is often in the free troposphere above the polluted boundary layer, thus enabling lidar measurements of thinner and higher clouds. In addition, the measurements suggest a change in cloud morphology at Jungfraujoch above ∼ 13 km, possibly because high particle number densities form in the observed cirrus clouds, when many ice crystals nucleate in the high supersaturations following rapid uplifts in lee waves above mountainous terrain. The retrieved optical properties are used as input for a radiative transfer model to estimate the net cloud radiative forcing, CRFNET, for the analyzed cirrus clouds. All cirrus detected here have a positive CRFNET. This confirms that these thin, high cirrus have a warming effect on the Earth's climate, whereas cooling clouds typically have cloud edges too low in altitude to satisfy the FLICA criterion of temperatures below −38 °C. We find CRFNET = 0.9 W m−2 for Jungfraujoch and 1.0 W m−2 (1.7 W m−2) for Zürich (Jülich). Further, we calculate that subvisible cirrus (τ < 0.03) contribute about 5 %, thin cirrus (0.03 < τ < 0.3) about 45 %, and opaque cirrus (0.3 < τ) about 50 % of the total cirrus radiative forcing.