Search Results

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Item
    Profiling of aerosol microphysical properties at several EARLINET/AERONET sites during the July 2012 ChArMEx/EMEP campaign
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2016) Granados-Muñoz, María José; Navas-Guzmán, Francisco; Guerrero-Rascado, Juan Luis; Bravo-Aranda, Juan Antonio; Pereira, Sergio Nepomuceno; Basart, Sara; Baldasano, José María; Belegante, Livio; Chaikovsky, Anatoli; Comerón, Adolfo; D'Amico, Giuseppe; Dubovik, Oleg; Ilic, Luka; Kokkalis, Panos; Muñoz-Porcar, Constantino; Nickovic, Slobodan; Nicolae, Doina; Facchini, Maria Cristina; Olmo, Francisco José; Papayannis, Alexander; Pappalardo, Gelsomina; Rodríguez, Alejandro; Schepanski, Kerstin; Sicard, Michaël; Vukovic, Ana; Wandinger, Ulla; Dulac, François; Alados-Arboledas, Lucas
    The simultaneous analysis of aerosol microphysical properties profiles at different European stations is made in the framework of the ChArMEx/EMEP 2012 field campaign (9–11 July 2012). During and in support of this campaign, five lidar ground-based stations (Athens, Barcelona, Bucharest, Évora, and Granada) performed 72 h of continuous lidar measurements and collocated and coincident sun-photometer measurements. Therefore it was possible to retrieve volume concentration profiles with the Lidar Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC). Results indicated the presence of a mineral dust plume affecting the western Mediterranean region (mainly the Granada station), whereas a different aerosol plume was observed over the Balkans area. LIRIC profiles showed a predominance of coarse spheroid particles above Granada, as expected for mineral dust, and an aerosol plume composed mainly of fine and coarse spherical particles above Athens and Bucharest. Due to the exceptional characteristics of the ChArMEx database, the analysis of the microphysical properties profiles' temporal evolution was also possible. An in-depth analysis was performed mainly at the Granada station because of the availability of continuous lidar measurements and frequent AERONET inversion retrievals. The analysis at Granada was of special interest since the station was affected by mineral dust during the complete analyzed period. LIRIC was found to be a very useful tool for performing continuous monitoring of mineral dust, allowing for the analysis of the dynamics of the dust event in the vertical and temporal coordinates. Results obtained here illustrate the importance of having collocated and simultaneous advanced lidar and sun-photometer measurements in order to characterize the aerosol microphysical properties in both the vertical and temporal coordinates at a regional scale. In addition, this study revealed that the use of the depolarization information as input in LIRIC in the stations of Bucharest, Évora, and Granada was crucial for the characterization of the aerosol types and their distribution in the vertical column, whereas in stations lacking depolarization lidar channels, ancillary information was needed. Results obtained were also used for the validation of different mineral dust models. In general, the models better forecast the vertical distribution of the mineral dust than the column-integrated mass concentration, which was underestimated in most of the cases.
  • Item
    Optical properties of aerosol mixtures derived from sun-sky radiometry during SAMUM-2
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Toledano, C.; Wiegner, M.; Groß, S.; Freudenthaler, V.; Gasteiger, J.; Müller, D.; Müller, T.; Schladitz, A.; Weinzierl, B.; Torres, B.; O’neill, N.T.
    The SAMUM-2 experiment took place in the Cape Verde is lands in January–February 2008. The colocated ground-based and airborne instruments allow the study of desert dust optical and microphysical properties in a closure experiment. The Meteorological Institute of the University of Munich deployed one sun-sky photometer and two tropospheric lidar systems. A travelling AERONET-Cimel sun-sky radiometer was also deployed. During the measurement period the aerosol scenario over Cape Verde mostly consisted of a dust layer below 2 km and a smoke-dust layer above 2–4 km a.s.l. The Saharan dust arrived at the site from the NE, whereas the smoke originated in the African equatorial region. This paper describes the main results of the Sun photometer observations, supported by lidar information. An analysis of the variations in the aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the range 340–1550 nm, the Ångström exponent, volume size distributions and single scattering albedo is presented. The aerosol mixtures are analysed by means of the fine mode fraction of the AOD provided by the sun-sky inversion data and the Spectral Deconvolution Algorithm. The mean AOD (500 nm) was 0.31, with associated low ångström exponent of 0.46. Several types of events were detected within the data set, with prevalence of dust or mixtures as characterized by the Ångstr¨om exponents of extinction and absorption and the fine mode fraction. Aerosol properties derived from sunphotometry were compared to in situ measurements of size distribution, effective radius and single scattering albedo.
  • Item
    Profiling of Saharan dust and biomass-burning smoke with multiwavelength polarization Raman lidar at Cape Verde
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Tesche, Matthias; Gross, Silke; Ansmann, Albert; Müller, Detlef; Althausen, Dietrich; Freudenthaler, Volker; Esselborn, Michael
    Extensive lidar measurements of Saharan dust and biomass-burning smoke were performed with one airborne and three ground-based instruments in the framework of the second part of the SAharan Mineral dUst experiMent (SAMUM-2a) during January and February of 2008 at Cape Verde. Further lidar observations with one system only were conducted duringMay and June of 2008 (SAMUM-2b). The active measurements were supported by Sun photometer observations. During winter, layers of mineral dust from the Sahara and biomass-burning smoke from southern West Africa pass Cape Verde on their way to South America while pure dust layers cross the Atlantic on their way to the Caribbean during summer. The mean 500-nm aerosol optical thickness (AOT) observed during SAMUM-2a was 0.35 ± 0.18. SAMUM-2a observations showed transport of pure dust within the lowermost 1.5 km of the atmospheric column. In the height range from 1.5 to 5.0 km, mixed dust/smoke layers with mean lidar ratios of 67 ± 14 sr at 355 and 532 nm, respectively, prevailed. Within these layers, wavelength-independent linear particle depolarization ratios of 0.12–0.18 at 355, 532, and 710 nm indicate a large contribution (30–70%) of mineral dust to the measured optical properties. Ångstr¨om exponents for backscatter and extinction of around 0.7 support this finding. Mean extinction coefficients in the height range between 2 and 4 km were 66 ± 6 Mm−1 at 355 nm and 48 ± 5 Mm−1 at 532 nm. Comparisons with airborne high-spectral-resolution lidar observations show good agreement within the elevated layers. 3–5 km deep dust layers where observed during SAMUM-2b. These layers showed optical properties similar to the ones of SAMUM-1 in Morocco with a mean 500-nm AOT of 0.4 ± 0.2. Dust extinction coefficients were about 80 ± 6 Mm−1 at 355 and 532 nm. Dust lidar ratios were 53 ± 10 sr at 355 and 532 nm, respectively. Dust depolarization ratios showed an increase with wavelength from 0.31 ± 0.10 at 532 nm to 0.37 ± 0.07 at 710 nm.
  • Item
    Characterization of the planetary boundary layer during SAMUM-2 by means of lidar measurements
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Groß, Silke; Gasteiger, Josef; Freudenthaler, Volker; Wiegner, Matthias; Geiß, Alexander; Schladitz, Alexander; Toledano, Carlos; Kandler, Konrad; Tesche, Matthias; Ansmann, Albert; Wiedensohler, Alfred
    Measurements with two Raman-depolarization lidars of the Meteorological Institute of the Ludwig-Maximilians- Universit¨at, M¨unchen, Germany, performed during SAMUM-2, were used to characterize the planetary boundary layer (PBL) over Praia, Cape Verde. A novel approach was used to determine the volume fraction of dust υd in the PBL. This approach primarily relies on accurate measurements of the linear depolarization ratio. Comparisons with independent in situ measurements showed the reliability of this approach. Based on our retrievals, two different phases could be distinguished within the measurement period of almost one month. The first (22–31 January 2008) was characterized by high aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the PBL and large υd > 95%. During the second phase, the AOD in the PBL was considerably lower and υd less than ∼40%. These findings were in very good agreement with ground based in situ measurements, when ambient volume fractions are considered that were calculated from the actual measurements of the dry volume fraction. Only in cases when dust was not the dominating aerosol component (second phase), effects due to hygroscopic growth became important.
  • Item
    Regional modelling of Saharan dust and biomass-burning smoke, Part I: Model description and evaluation
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Heinold, Bernd; Tegen, Ina; Schepanski, Kerstin; Tesche, Matthias; Esselborn, Michael; Freudenthaler, Volker; Gross, Silke; Kandler, Konrad; Knippertz, Peter; Müller, Detlef; Schladitz, Alexander; Toledano, Carlos; Weinzierl, Bernadett; Ansmann, Albert; Althausen, Dietrich; Müller, Thomas; Petzold, Andreas; Wiedensohler, Alfred
    The spatio-temporal evolution of the Saharan dust and biomass-burning plume during the SAMUM-2 field campaign in January and February 2008 is simulated at 28 km horizontal resolution with the regional model-system COSMOMUSCAT. The model performance is thoroughly tested using routine ground-based and space-borne remote sensing and local field measurements. Good agreement with the observations is found in many cases regarding transport patterns, aerosol optical thicknesses and the ratio of dust to smoke aerosol. The model also captures major features of the complex aerosol layering. Nevertheless, discrepancies in the modelled aerosol distribution occur, which are analysed in detail. The dry synoptic dynamics controlling dust uplift and transport during the dry season are well described by the model, but surface wind peaks associated with the breakdown of nocturnal low-level jets are not always reproduced. Thus, a strong dust outbreak is underestimated. While dust emission modelling is a priori more challenging, since strength and placement of dust sources depend on on-line computed winds, considerable inaccuracies also arise in observation-based estimates of biomass-burning emissions. They are caused by cloud and spatial errors of satellite fire products and uncertainties in fire emission parameters, and can lead to unrealistic model results of smoke transport.