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- ItemShip-borne aerosol profiling with lidar over the Atlantic Ocean: From pure marine conditions to complex dust-smoke mixtures(Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH, 2018) Bohlmann, S.; Baars, H.; Radenz, M.; Engelmann, R.; Macke, A.The multi-wavelength Raman lidar PollyXT has been regularly operated aboard the research vessel Polarstern on expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean from north to south and vice versa. The lidar measurements of the RV Polarstern cruises PS95 from Bremerhaven, Germany, to Cape Town, Republic of South Africa (November 2015), and PS98 from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Bremerhaven, Germany (April/May 2016), are presented and analysed in detail. The latest set-up of PollyXT allows improved coverage of the marine boundary layer (MBL) due to an additional near-range receiver. Three case studies provide an overview of the aerosol detected over the Atlantic Ocean. In the first case, marine conditions were observed near South Africa on the autumn cruise PS95. Values of optical properties (depolarisation ratios close to zero, lidar ratios of 23 sr at 355 and 532 nm) within the MBL indicate pure marine aerosol. A layer of dried marine aerosol, indicated by an increase of the particle depolarisation ratio to about 10% at 355 nm (9% at 532 nm) and thus confirming the non-sphericity of these particles, could be detected on top of the MBL. On the same cruise, an almost pure Saharan dust plume was observed near the Canary Islands, presented in the second case. The third case deals with several layers of Saharan dust partly mixed with biomass-burning smoke measured on PS98 near the Cabo Verde islands. While the MBL was partly mixed with dust in the pure Saharan dust case, an almost marine MBL was observed in the third case. A statistical analysis showed latitudinal differences in the optical properties within the MBL, caused by the downmixing of dust in the tropics and anthropogenic influences in the northern latitudes, whereas the optical properties of the MBL in the Southern Hemisphere correlate with typical marine values. The particle depolarisation ratio of dried marine layers ranged between 4 and 9% at 532 nm. Night measurements from PS95 and PS98 were used to illustrate the potential of aerosol classification using lidar ratio, particle depolarisation ratio at 355 and 532 nm, and Angström exponent. Lidar ratio and particle depolarisation ratio have been found to be the main indicator for particle type, whereas the Ångström exponent is rather variable.
- ItemImpact of particle shape on the morphology of noctilucent clouds(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2015) Kiliani, J.; Baumgarten, G.; Lübken, F.-J.; Berger, U.Noctilucent clouds (NLCs) occur during summer in the polar region at altitudes around 83 km. They consist of ice particles with a typical size around 50 nm. The shape of NLC particles is less well known but is important both for interpreting optical measurements and modeling ice cloud characteristics. In this paper, NLC modeling of microphysics and optics is adapted to use cylindrical instead of spherical particle shape. The optical properties of the resulting ice clouds are compared directly to NLC three-color measurements by the Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research (ALOMAR) Rayleigh/Mie/Raman (RMR) lidar between 1998 and 2014. Shape distributions including both needle- and disc-shaped particles are consistent with lidar measurements. The best agreement occurs if disc shapes are 60 % more common than needles, with a mean axis ratio of 2.8. Cylindrical particles cause stronger ice clouds on average than spherical shapes with an increase of backscatter at 532 nm by ≈ 30 % and about 20 % in ice mass density. This difference is less pronounced for bright than for weak ice clouds. Cylindrical shapes also cause NLCs to have larger but a smaller number of ice particles than for spherical shapes.
- ItemMicrophysical and optical properties of dust and tropical biomass burning aerosol layers in the Cape Verde region - an overview of the airborne in situ and lidar measurements during SAMUM-2(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Weinzierl, Bernadett; Sauer, Daniel; Esselborn, Michael; Petzold, Andreas; Veira, Andreas; Rose, Maximilian; Mund, Susanne; Wirth, Martin; Ansmann, Albert; Tesche, Matthias; Gross, Silke; Freudenthaler, VolkerIn the framework of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar and in situ measurements of the particle size, aerosol mixing state and absorption coefficient were conducted. Here, the properties of mineral dust and tropical biomass burning layers in the Cape Verde region in January/February 2008 are investigated and compared with the properties of fresh dust observed in May/June 2006 close the Sahara. In the Cape Verde area, we found a complex stratification with dust layers covering the altitude range below 2 km and biomass burning layers aloft. The aerosol type of the individual layers was classified based on depolarization and lidar ratios and, in addition, on in situ measured Ångström exponents of absorption åap. The dust layers had a depth of 1.3 ± 0.4 km and showed a median åap of 3.95. The median effective diameter Deff was 2.5 μm and the dust layers over Cape Verde yielded clear signals of aging: large particles were depleted due to gravitational settling and the accumulation mode diameter was shifted towards larger sizes as a result of coagulation. The tropical biomass layers had a depth of 2.0 ± 1.1 km and were characterized by a median åap of 1.34. They always contained a certain amount of large dust particles and showed a median Deff of 1.1 μm and a fine mode Deff,fine of 0.33. The dust and biomass burning layers had a median aerosol optical depth (AOD) of 0.23 and 0.09, respectively. The median contributions to the AOD of the total atmospheric column below 10 km were 75 and 37%, respectively.