Abstract
Studying near-surface aerosol properties is of importance for a better assessment of the aerosol effect on radiative forcing. We employ the data from a near-horizontal lidar to investigate the diurnal behavior of aerosol extinction and single scattering albedo (SSA) at 349 nm. The response of these parameters to ambient relative humidity (RH) is examined for the data from a one-month campaign conducted in Chiba, Japan, during November 2017, a transition period from fall to winter. The Klett method and adaptive slope method are used in deriving the aerosol extinction coefficient from the lidar data, while the SSA values are retrieved using an aethalometer. Also, a visibility-meter is used to examine the aerosol loading inside the atmospheric boundary layer. It is found that the aerosol growth during the deliquescence phase is more readily observed than the contraction in the efflorescence phase. The decrease of SSA before the deliquescence RH is found for approximately 46% of the deliquescence cases, presumably representing the particle shrinkage of soot particles.
Highlights
Observations of ambient aerosol optical properties near the ground are important for the Earth’s radiation budget, climate, visibility, pollution and health-related studies [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The range that corresponds to RCSpeak is not constant in the one-month observation, but, varies between around 400 and 800 m, which represents the altitude range between ~30 and ~55 m with respect to the lidar system elevation
We have described a set of the methodology used to estimate the near-surface aerosol optical properties, namely, the aerosol extinction coefficient and single scattering albedo (SSA), using a near-horizontal lidar, a visibility-meter and an aethalometer
Summary
Observations of ambient aerosol optical properties near the ground are important for the Earth’s radiation budget, climate, visibility, pollution and health-related studies [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Results from these observations can serve as ground truth data to compare aerosol products derived from satellite measurements. One of the methods to measure aerosol optical properties near the ground is the use of near-horizontal lidar operated continuously [7]. A near-horizontal lidar, on the other hand, can provide information on diurnal changes of aerosols near the ground and possibly on the seasonal characterization of aerosol optical properties if operated continuously
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