Ground-based lidar measurements of aerosols during ACE-2: instrument description, results, and comparisons with other ground-based and airborne measurements

  1. Ellsworth J. Welton1,
  2. Kenneth J. Voss1,
  3. Howard R. Gordon1,
  4. Hal Maring2,
  5. Alexander Smirnov3,
  6. Brent Holben3,
  7. Beat Schmid4,
  8. John M. Livingston5,
  9. Philip B. Russell5,
  10. Philip A. Durkee6,
  11. Paola Formenti7,
  12. Meinrat O. Andreae7

Article first published online: 28 FEB 2003

DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0889.2000.00025.x

Issue

Tellus B

Tellus B

Volume 52, Issue 2, pages 636–651, April 2000

Additional Information

How to Cite

Welton, E. J., Voss, K. J., Gordon, H. R., Maring, H., Smirnov, A., Holben, B., Schmid, B., Livingston, J. M., Russell, P. B., Durkee, P. A., Formenti, P. and Andreae, M. O. (2000), Ground-based lidar measurements of aerosols during ACE-2: instrument description, results, and comparisons with other ground-based and airborne measurements. Tellus B, 52: 636–651. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0889.2000.00025.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    University of Miami, Physics Department, 1320 Campo Sano Dr., Coral Gables, Fl 33143, USA;

  2. 2

    RSMAS/MAC, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Fl 33149, USA;

  3. 3

    Science Systems and Applications, Inc., NASA-GSFC Code 923, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA;

  4. 4

    Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-5, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000, USA;

  5. 5

    SRI International, MS 245-5, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000, USA;

  6. 6

    Meteorology Department, Code MR/DE, Naval Postgraduate School, 589 Dyer Rd., Monterey, CA 93943-5114, USA;

  7. 7

    Max Planck Institut fur Chemie, Biogeochemistry Department, PO Box 3060, 55020 Mainz, Germany

*Corresponding author. Present affiliation: Science Systems and Applications, Inc., NASA-GSFC Code 912, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. e-mail: welton@virl.gsfc.nasa.gov

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 28 FEB 2003
  2. Article first published online: 28 FEB 2003
  3. Received 1 February 1999; in final form 20 September 1999

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A micro-pulse lidar system (MPL) was used to measure the vertical and horizontal distribution of aerosols during the Aerosol Characterization Experiment 2 (ACE-2) in June and July of 1997. The MPL measurements were made at the Izaña observatory (IZO), a weather station located on a mountain ridge (28°18′ N, 16°30′ W, 2367 m asl) near the center of the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands. The MPL was used to acquire aerosol backscatter, extinction, and optical depth profiles for normal background periods and periods influenced by Saharan dust from North Africa. System tests and calibration procedures are discussed, and an analysis of aerosol optical profiles acquired during ACE-2 is presented. MPL data taken during normal IZO conditions (no dust) showed that upslope aerosols appeared during the day and dissipated at night and that the layers were mostly confined to altitudes a few hundred meters above IZO. MPL data taken during a Saharan dust episode on 17 July showed that peak aerosol extinction values were an order of magnitude greater than molecular scattering over IZO, and that the dust layers extended to 5 km asl. The value of the dust backscatter–extinction ratio was determined to be 0.027±0.007 sr−1. Comparisons of the MPL data with data from other co-located instruments showed good agreement during the dust episode.

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