Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer Measurements Research Articles

Aerosol optical depth retrievals in central Amazonia from a multi-filter rotating shadow-band radiometer calibrated on-site

Abstract. Extraterrestrial spectral response calibration of a multi-filter rotating shadow band radiometer (MFRSR) under pristine Amazonian Forest atmosphere conditions was performed using the Langley plot method. The MFRSR is installed in central Amazonia as part of a long-term monitoring site, which was used in the context of the GoAmazon2014/5 experiment. It has been operating continuously since 2011 without regular extraterrestrial calibration, preventing its application to accurate monitoring of aerosol particles. Once calibrated, the MFRSR measurements were applied to retrieve aerosol particle columnar optical properties, specifically aerosol optical depth (AODλ) and Ångström exponent (AE), which were evaluated against retrievals from a collocated Cimel Sun photometer belonging to the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET). Results obtained revealed that pristine Amazonian conditions are able to provide MFRSR extraterrestrial spectral response with relative uncertainty lower than 1.0 % in visible channels. The worst estimate (air mass =1) for absolute uncertainty in AODλ retrieval varied from ≈0.02 to ≈0.03, depending on the assumption regarding uncertainty for MFRSR direct normal irradiance measured at the surface. The obtained root mean square error (RMSE ≈0.025) from the evaluation of MFRSR retrievals against AERONET AODλ was, in general, lower than estimated MFRSR AODλ uncertainty, and close to the uncertainty of AERONET field Sun photometers (≈0.02).

Retrieval of precipitable water vapor using MFRSR and comparison with other multisensors over the semi-arid area of northwest China

Precipitable water vapor (PWV) was retrieved using direct solar irradiance at 938nm measured by a multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer (MFRSR) at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University (SACOL) located in the semi-arid area of northwest China from August 2007 to June 2010. Measurement also occurred at Zhangye, China, at the Atmosphere Radiation Measurements (ARM) Program's Ancillary Facility during the dust period from April to June 2008. The line-by-line radiative transfer model (LBLRTM) code combined with the HITRAN 2004 spectral database is used to model the water vapor spectral transmittance throughout the 938-nm spectral response of MFRSR in the retrieval algorithm. Gaussian fitting is proposed to determine the daily calibration constant at the top of atmosphere for a long-term series under an obvious annual change in solar radiation.PWV retrieved by MFRSR over SACOL shows that 90% of PWV values are smaller than 1.52cm, and PWV distribution has a seasonal variation, with maximum in summer and minimum in winter. The comparisons between MFRSR and other measurements show a better agreement between MFRSR and sunphotometer (AERONET's Cimel) PWV retrievals with relative bias of 2.9% and RMS difference of 9.1% than between MFRSR and microwave radiometer (MWR) with relative bias of 10% and RMS difference of 23% over SACOL, and an excellent agreement between MFRSR and sunphotometer with relative bias of 0.56% and RMS difference of 6.1% over Zhangye.To verify satellite PWV products over the semi-arid area of northwest China, the comparisons of PWV from MODIS and AIRS with MFRSR suggest that the agreement between satellite and MFRSR PWV retrievals is not as good as that between MFRSR and other ground-based instruments. MODIS appears to slightly underestimate PWV in a dry atmosphere but overestimate PWV in a moist atmosphere against MFRSR. A method is proposed to correct MODIS PWV products. AIRS PWV products relative to MFRSR show a systematic underestimation.

Retrievals of aerosol optical depth and total column ozone from Ultraviolet Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer measurements based on an optimal estimation technique

A Bayesian optimal estimation (OE) retrieval technique was used to retreive aerosol optical depth (AOD), aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA), and an asymmetry factor (g) at seven ultraviolet wavelengths, along with total column ozone (TOC), from the measurements of the UltraViolet Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (UV-MFRSR) deployed at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site during March through November in 2009. The OE technique specifies appropriate error covariance matrices and optimizes a forward model (Tropospheric ultraviolet radiative transfer model, TUV), and thus provides a supplemental method for use across the network of the Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program (USDA UVMRP) for the retrieval of aerosol properties and TOC with reasonable accuracy in the UV spectral range under various atmospheric conditions. In order to assess the accuracy of the OE technique, we compared the AOD retreivals from this method with those from Beer’s Law and the AErosol RObotic Network (AERONET) AOD product. We also examine the OE retrieved TOC in comparison with the TOC from the U.S. Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program (USDA UVMRP) and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite data. The scatterplots of the estimated AOD from the OE method agree well with those derived from Beer’s law and the collocated AERONETAOD product, showing high values of correlation coefficients, generally 0.98 and 0.99, and large slopes, ranging from 0.95 to 1.0, as well as small offsets, less than 0.02 especially at 368 nm. The comparison of TOC retrievals also indicates the promising accuracy of the OE method in that the standard deviations of the difference between the OE derived TOC and other TOC products are about 5 to 6 Dobson Units (DU). Validation of the OE retrievals on these selected dates suggested that the OE technique has its merits and can serve as a supplemental tool in further analyzing UVMRP data.

Climatology of aerosol optical properties at ACRF sites in the tropical warm pool region

AbstractThe long‐term multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer measurements at three Atmospheric Radiation Measurements Climate Research Facility sites of Darwin, Nauru, and Manus have been processed to develop the climatology of aerosols in the tropical warm pool region at the interannual, seasonal, and diurnal temporal scales. Due to their unique geolocations and associated large‐scale circulation patterns, aerosols at the Nauru site exhibit background oceanic characteristics (strongly correlated with the sea surface wind), aerosols at the Darwin site show strong influences by biomass‐burning aerosols, particularly in the dry season, and aerosols at the Manus site have climatologic characteristics in between the Darwin and Nauru sites. There are no obvious trends of aerosol loading for past decades at all three sites. El Niño/Southern Oscillation has its impacts on aerosol optical depth, as well as particle size and composition, at all three sites. Madden‐Julian Oscillation modulates aerosol optical depth at the Manus and Nauru sites along the equator but has no apparent impact at the Darwin site. The annual or seasonal variation of aerosols is closely linked with Indo‐Australian monsoons, exhibiting wet and dry season differences. The aerosol loading is significant lower with relatively larger particles in the wet season than in the dry season. There are significant diurnal cycles in both aerosol optical depth and Angstrom exponent at the Darwin site: low values of aerosol optical depth and Angstrom exponent in the midday and the two peaks in the early morning and late afternoon. There are noticeable changes between the dry and wet seasons. The amplitude of diurnal variation during La Niña periods is greater than that during El Niño periods. However, there are no significant diurnal variations of aerosol loading at the Manus and Nauru sites.

Seasonal variability of tropospheric aerosols in Rome

The seasonal evolution of the tropospheric aerosol vertical distribution and of its optical properties is investigated using lidar and multi-filter rotating shadow-band radiometer (MFRSR) measurements collected throughout the period 2006–2009 in the urban environment of Rome. The evolution of the aerosol distribution is studied also in relation to long range transport of dust.Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model backward trajectories are used to identify possible aerosol sources in remote regions.Aerosol optical depth at 500nm, τ, and Ångström exponent, α, are derived from MFRSR measurements. The Ångström exponent generally displays relatively high values, indicating the predominance of fine particle over the entire column. The average optical depth at 500nm and Ångström exponent over the whole period are 0.18±0.09 and 1.12±0.39, respectively. Cases affected by Saharan dust (class 1) are separated from those not influenced by dust (class 0) by using backward trajectories. The average values of τ and α are 0.17±0.08 and 1.17±0.36 for class 0, respectively, and 0.22±0.09 and 0.95±0.46 for class 1.About 214days of lidar measurements are selected for the analysis. The aerosol vertical distribution is influenced by dust events that induce a marked seasonal behaviour. Desert dust generally reaches higher altitudes than other aerosol types; the maxima altitudes are observed during Spring and Summer, when the monthly average altitude exceeds 5km. The annual average occurrence of desert dust is 27%, with maxima in Spring and in the first part of Summer. The decrease in the dust event frequency observed in winter months is mainly linked to the seasonal behaviour of the synoptic circulation in the Mediterranean. According to the back-trajectories aerosols are primarily observed below 3km altitude throughout the year when classified as not affected by desert dust. The extinction coefficient vertical profiles for the two classes show largest differences during Spring and Summer. The extinction for non-dust profiles decreases monotonically with altitude throughout the year, except in Summer. Conversely, the aerosol extinction coefficient shows a relative minimum at the lowest sounded altitude, always except in winter, for class 1 cases. A winter maximum of the aerosol is evidently present in winter in the lower troposphere. Using the MFRSR optical depth and the lidar profiles, the lidar ratio was derived. The overall average lidar ratio is 58sr.

Retrieval of aerosol optical depth in vicinity of broken clouds from reflectance ratios: case study

Abstract. A recently developed reflectance ratio (RR) method for the retrieval of aerosol optical depth (AOD) is evaluated using extensive airborne and ground-based data sets collected during the Cloud and Land Surface Interaction Campaign (CLASIC) and the Cumulus Humilis Aerosol Processing Study (CHAPS), which took place in June 2007 over the US Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains site. A detailed case study is performed for a field of single-layer shallow cumuli observed on 12 June 2007. The RR method is applied to retrieve the spectral values of AOD from the reflectance ratios measured by the MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) for two pairs of wavelengths (660 and 470 nm, 870 and 470 nm) collected at a spatial resolution of 0.05 km. The retrieval is compared with an independent AOD estimate from three ground-based Multi-filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometers (MFRSRs). The interpolation algorithm that is used to project MFRSR point measurements onto the aircraft flight tracks is tested using AOD derived from NASA Langley High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL). The RR AOD estimates are in a good agreement (within 5%) with the MFRSR-derived AOD values for the 660-nm wavelength. The AODs obtained from MAS reflectance ratios overestimate those derived from MFRSR measurements by 15–30% for the 470-nm wavelength and underestimate the 870-nm AOD by the same amount.

Aerosol optical depth measurements in eastern China and a new calibration method

We present a new calibration method to derive aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the MultiFilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR) under extremely hazy atmospheric conditions during the East Asian Study of Tropospheric Aerosols: an International Regional Experiment (EAST‐AIRE) and the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) deployment in China. MFRSR measurements have been made at Xianghe since September 2004 and at Taihu and Shouxian since March and May 2008, respectively. Aerosol property retrievals from CIMEL Electonique, Paris, Sun and sky radiometers located at each site show that aerosol loading is substantial and highly variable during a given year (averaged daily AOD550 = 0.80 ± 0.14). The conventional application of the Langley method to calibrate the MFRSR is not possible at these sites because there is a dearth of stable atmospheric and low‐AOD conditions. To overcome this limitation of the traditional Langley plot method, highest irradiance values at a given air mass during a given period are used here. These highest values can represent the clear‐sky and minimum aerosol loading conditions. A scatterplot of the AOD estimated by this method with the CIMEL Sun and sky radiometer AOD shows very good agreement: correlation coefficients are on the order of 0.98–0.99, slopes range from 0.93 to 0.97, and offsets are less than 0.02 for the three sites. AOD and Ångström exponents were derived from application of the method to all MFRSR data acquired at the three sites. AOD values at 500 nm are τ500 = 0.99 ± 0.71 (α500–870 = 1.45 ± 0.59) at Xianghe, 0.87 ± 0.54 (1.14 ± 0.31) at Taihu, and 0.84 ± 0.43 (1.15 ± 0.28) at Shouxian. Anthropogenic aerosols appear to dominate in the study region with significant contributions from large dust particles and influence of hydroscopic growth.

Seasonal evolution of the tropospheric aerosol vertical profile in the central Mediterranean and role of desert dust

The seasonal evolution of the aerosol vertical distribution in the Central Mediterranean is studied using measurements made in the period 1999–2008 at Lampedusa with an aerosol Lidar and a multi filter rotating shadowband radiometer (MFRSR). Measurements show that the aerosol vertical distribution is largely influenced by Saharan dust, which produces a strong annual cycle both in aerosol vertical extension and optical depth. Dust layers are present in the profile in 38% of the cases throughout the year, and in 57% in summer. The dust top altitude peaks in late spring, up to 9 km. The monthly average optical depth at 500 nm for dust cases shows a main peak in July (0.38), and values exceeding 0.2 throughout March–September. Conversely, non‐dust cases show a very limited seasonality, both in vertical distribution and aerosol optical depth. The monthly average optical depth for non‐dust cases is smaller than 0.17 throughout the year. During winter, the vertical distribution and optical depth are very similar for both dust and non‐dust cases. The seasonal average extinction coefficient profiles for dust and non‐dust cases show remarkable differences in spring and summer, when values of the extinction coefficient exceed 0.5 × 10−4 m−1 throughout the altitude range 0–4.5 km for dust cases, and 0–1 km altitude for non‐dust cases, respectively. Estimates of the Lidar Ratio are derived by combining Lidar and MFRSR measurements. The average Lidar Ratio at 532 nm is about 30 sr.

Comparison of total column ozone data from ground-based MFRSR measurements taken in the southern U.S. region with OMI satellite retrievals

[1] A study of total column ozone (TCO) measurement data taken with a network of ground-based MultiFilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometers (MFRSR) compared with data retrieved from the satellite-based Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) shows an average positive bias of 3.04% ± 1.7% under all sky days. The MFRSR station-to-station standard deviation was ±2.1%. In contrast, a recent 2-year comparison of ground-based Dobson and Brewer stations shows that OMI-TOMS TCO averages only 0.4% higher than the station average, with station-to-station standard deviation of ±0.6%. Annual seasonal variability in the TCO is manifested through an increase beginning in December and going through May before the levels decrease over the northern summer until reaching the lowest levels around October. In this study, positive biases were found for the 11 southern U.S. MFRSR monitoring sites after an analysis of 2 years of data from January 2006–December 2007. Overall, our comparisons show that there is good agreement between OMI-TOMS and MFRSR readings over the southern U.S.

Retrieving optical depths of optically thin and mixed‐phase clouds from MFRSR measurements

A new method has been developed to retrieve cloud optical depths for optically thin clouds (τ < 10) from the Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR). On the basis of simultaneous measurements of direct and diffuse radiation from MFRSR, this method allows partition of water and ice clouds and thus improves cloud optical depth retrievals. The new retrieval algorithm achieves the high consistency of retrieved cloud optical depth from both direct‐beam and total radiation: the slope of 0.95 between the two with correlation coefficient of 0.90 and RMS of 1.00. A sensitivity study illustrates that the maximum biases (relative errors) of cloud optical depth within the range of effective radius of clouds are 0.16 (4.7%) and 0.36 (8.3%) for retrievals from direct‐beam radiation and from total radiation, respectively. Validation and evaluation from measurements at the Point Reyes site have been conducted, illustrating that the new retrieval algorithm provides not only accurate retrievals of cloud optical depth in terms of radiation closure but also unique mix ratio of cloud water and ice for optically thin clouds under overcast conditions. Because of the climatologic importance of thin clouds, this algorithm with unique mix ratio retrievals is important for the climate study.

Characterization of atmospheric aerosols using MFRSR measurements

Measurements by multifilter rotating shadowband radiometers (MFRSRs) constitute a valuable global data set with contributions from hundreds of instruments deployed worldwide. The geographical coverage of MFRSR networks is complementary to that of AERONET and often provides better spatial density of measurement sites, especially in the United States. We describe our recently updated analysis algorithm for MFRSR data that allows partitioning of the spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) into fine and coarse mode AOD and retrieval of the fine mode effective radius. Our recent sensitivity study demonstrated that for a typical measurement accuracy 0.01 of AOD, the trade‐offs between the spectral aerosol extinction and NO2 absorption in the visible range effectively prevent unambiguous retrieval of NO2 column from MFRSR data and may also bias aerosol size distribution retrievals. This has prompted us to adopt a new retrieval approach, which utilizes climatological NO2 (based on SCIAMACHY satellite retrievals) and uses column ozone from TOMS measurements. The performance of this new approach was evaluated using the long‐term data set from the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site operated by the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program. We present a detailed intercomparison of total, fine, and coarse mode AOD and fine mode effective radius between two MFRSRs located at the SGP's Central Facility and with the correlative AERONET Sun‐sky inversion results (Version 2) derived from a collocated CIMEL Sun photometer. The comparison between two MFRSRs demonstrated good consistency of both the measurements and the analysis. Agreement with AERONET inversions is remarkably good, in that differences in AOD components do not exceed the expected measurement accuracy of 0.01, while the retrieved values of fine mode effective radius show no relative bias and only 0.03 μm random error (standard deviation of the differences). We show that if only data with large enough AOD (more than 0.06 at 870 nm) are selected, this error is reduced by a factor of two, becoming about 10% of a typical fine mode effective radius value.

Aerosol single-scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter from MFRSR observations during the ARM Aerosol IOP 2003

Abstract. Multi-filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometers (MFRSRs) provide routine measurements of the aerosol optical depth (τ) at six wavelengths (0.415, 0.5, 0.615, 0.673, 0.870 and 0.94 μm). The single-scattering albedo (π0) is typically estimated from the MFRSR measurements by assuming the asymmetry parameter (g). In most instances, however, it is not easy to set an appropriate value of g due to its strong temporal and spatial variability. Here, we introduce and validate an updated version of our retrieval technique that allows one to estimate simultaneously π0 and g for different types of aerosol. We use the aerosol and radiative properties obtained during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program's Aerosol Intensive Operational Period (IOP) to validate our retrieval in two ways. First, the MFRSR-retrieved optical properties are compared with those obtained from independent surface, Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), and aircraft measurements. The MFRSR-retrieved optical properties are in reasonable agreement with these independent measurements. Second, we perform radiative closure experiments using the MFRSR-retrieved optical properties. The calculated broadband values of the direct and diffuse fluxes are comparable (~5 W/m2) to those obtained from measurements.

Seasonal behavior of Saharan dust events at the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in the period 1999–2005

Multi-filter rotating shadowband radiometer (MFRSR) measurements have been carried out at Lampedusa (35.52°N, 12.63°E) in 1999, and continuously since 2001. This study describes the Saharan dust (SD) events at Lampedusa on the basis of daily average optical depth at 500 nm, τ, and Ångström exponent, α, derived from these observations. Back-trajectories ending at Lampedusa at 2000 and 4000 m altitude were calculated by means of the HYSPLIT model. SD events are identified as those for which the trajectories interact with the mixed layer in places where the surface wind exceeds 7 m s −1, or spend a large fraction of time over the Sahara. The SD days display values of α+Δ α⩽1, with Δ α equal to the standard deviation of the daily α. Out of 911 days with cloud-free intervals, 233 (26%) are classified as SD, and correspond to 111 episodes of various duration, from 1 to 13 consecutive days. The occurrence of SD events is maximum in summer (33%), when also the largest seasonal average of τ (0.40) is measured, and minimum in winter (7%), when the smallest seasonal average of α (0.08) is found. SD days have been identified from the back-trajectories also in days lacking of observations, due to either cloudiness or measurement interruptions. The frequency of occurrence of SD days shows little change with respect to the cloud-free periods (24%). The seasonal distribution shows a peak in May (38%), followed by July (37%). Regions of SD production were derived from the HYSPLIT trajectories and NCEP-reanalysis surface winds. Finally, the MFRSR measurements at the solar zenith angle of 60° have been used to derive the single scattering albedo (SSA) for cases clearly dominated by dust ( τ⩾0.40 and α+Δ α⩽0.5). The average SSA for the whole period is 0.77±0.04 at 415.6 nm and 0.94±0.04 at 868.7 nm.

Retrieval of aerosol microphysical properties using surface MultiFilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR) data: Modeling and observations

MultiFilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometers (MFRSRs) are widely deployed over the world. These radiometers measure the total, direct, and diffuse components of shortwave, narrowband irradiance at six wavelengths. For five of these wavelengths, aerosol optical depths and single scattering albedos can be retrieved. We describe here a simple retrieval technique that can significantly extend the capability of the MFRSR to study atmospheric aerosols and can provide a means for simultaneous retrieval of the mean particle radius, total number of particles (for an assumed size distribution), and the imaginary refractive index. This technique is based on measurements of the direct irradiances at two wavelengths (0.415 μm and 0.870 μm) and the diffuse irradiance at 0.415 μm. Our technique requires assumptions regarding the shape of the aerosol size distribution, and the real part of the refractive index, as well as an estimate of the surface albedo at 0.415 μm. Given plausible values of these quantities, sensitivity tests show that successful retrievals of aerosol characteristics can be achieved. However, the retrieval does not work when the aerosol is dominated by coarse mode particles such as dust, because of the weak dependence of aerosol optical thickness on wavelength. The technique has been applied to derive time series of aerosol microphysical properties from MFRSR measurements taken during a single day, 27 April 2003, of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area field campaign. Additionally, MFRSR‐derived aerosol properties are in good agreement with Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) retrievals made also in Mexico City.

Retrievals of thin cloud optical depth from a multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer

A method is developed for accurate retrieval of thin cloud optical depth from measurements of a multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer (MFRSR). A key feature of this technique is correction of strong forward scattering of solar radiation into the instrument's field of view, which causes underestimation of retrieved cloud optical depth. To develop the correction method, measurements from the MFRSR under various atmospheric conditions are simulated by using a modified DISORT code that can accurately compute radiative intensity for strong forward scattering by thin clouds. These simulations are used to develop a polynomial fitting technique that corrects forward scattering into direct beam component. The correction is then applied to real MFRSR measurements. First, temporal and spectral variations in direct beam observations are used to discriminate between aerosol and thin cloud conditions. The true thin cloud optical depth, then, is inferred by removing background aerosol optical depth and by applying the polynomial fitting technique to correct the forward scattering contribution. An analysis of uncertainties associated with this method is also conducted and the results show that the retrievals are accurate to better than 5% or 0.05 when optical depth is less than 1.

Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Aerosols and Trace Gases by Means of Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer. Part II: Climatological Applications

Abstract Measurements from ground-based sun photometer networks can be used both to provide ground-truth validation of satellite aerosol retrievals and to produce a land-based aerosol climatology that is complementary to satellite retrievals that are currently performed mostly over ocean. The multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer (MFRSR) has become a popular network instrument in recent years. Several networks operate about a hundred instruments providing good geographical coverage of the United States. In addition, international use of the MFRSR has continued to increase, allowing MFRSR measurements to significantly contribute to aerosol climatologies. This study investigates the feasibility of creating a ground-based aerosol climatology using MFRSR measurements. Additionally, this analysis allows for testing of the performance of the retrieval algorithm under a variety of conditions. The retrieval algorithm is used for processing MFRSR data from clear and partially cloudy days to simultaneously ret...

Remote Sensing of Cloud Optical Properties from Ground-Based Measurements of Transmittance: A Feasibility Study

Abstract The authors present a retrieval technique for the inference of cloud optical depth from data obtained by a ground-based multichannel radiometer for use in climate-related studies. The basic steps of the analysis procedure are considered, including accurate calculations of the atmosphere and cloud properties. An approach is described that uses observed and model-simulated transmittances rather than irradiances and that does not depend on an absolute calibration of the instrument. This approach, which specifically deals with the transmittances, also offers substantial computational advantages. The resulting algorithm is applied (but not limited) to the measurements of incoming solar irradiance by a particular ground-based instrument, the so-called Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR). Sample results of inferred cloud optical depth obtained from MFRSR measurements in Fairbanks, Alaska, are presented.