Optical coherency of sunphotometry, sky radiometry and lidar measurements during the early phase of Pacific 2001

Abstract

Passive sunphotometry and sky radiometry data at sites in the Lower Fraser Valley (Langley-Lochiel) and Saturna Island were synchronously acquired with ground-based scanning lidar (Rapid Acquisition Scanning Aerosol Lidar, RASCAL) and airborne lidar (AERosol Imaging Airborne Lidar, AERIAL) during the Pacific 2001 Air Quality Study. The temporal and spatial behavior of these optical measurements is investigated during a pollution event which occurred from 13 to 16 August 2001. A mid-day minimum in lidar-derived extinction to backscatter ratios (Sa) values, was attributed, at least in part, to the relative humidity (RH) induced optical influence of the column integrated fine mode and/or coarse mode particles in the PBL. Systematically larger Sa values predicted by the sunphotometer and sky radiance inversions were hypothesized to be due to differences between the retrieved refractive index and the actual refractive index of the coarse mode. Aerosol optical depth differences were within maximum error bounds (0.02) when comparing the sunphotometry with spatial maps derived from AERIAL transects. Daily temporal trends of optical and microphysical parameters derived from sunphotometry and sky radiance data at this site were consistent with information deduced from the lidar and meteorological data; while the daily aerosol optical depth decrease was clearly associated with particle removal induced by daytime sea-breeze advection, a significant-to-dominant part of this decrease was associated with decreasing RH growth effects on at least one day.