Final Technical Report. Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) Raman Lidar measurement of atmospheric aerosols for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program

Abstract

Vertical profiles of aerosol extinction are required for determination of the effects of aerosols on the clear-sky radiative flux. Since recent studies have demonstrated the inability to compute these profiles on surface aerosol measurements alone, vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties must be acquired to compute aerosol radiative effects throughout the entire atmospheric column. Following the recommendation of the ARM Aerosol Working Group, the investigator developed, evaluated, and implemented algorithms for the CART Raman Lidar to provide profiles of aerosol extinction and backscattering. By virtue of its ability to measure vertical profiles of both aerosol extinction and water vapor simultaneously in the same scattering volume, we used the resulting profiles from the CART Raman Lidar to investigate the impact of water vapor and relative humidity on aerosol extinction throughout the column on a continuous and routine basis. The investigator used these the CART Raman Lidar aerosol extinction and backscattering profiles to evaluate the vertical variability of aerosol extinction and the extinction/backscatter ratio over the ARM SGP site.