Polarization Lidar Photometer Networking Research Articles

Optical and Microphysical Properties of the Aerosols during a Rare Event of Biomass-Burning Mixed with Polluted Dust

A rare event of mixed biomass-burning and polluted dust aerosols was observed over Athens, Greece (37.9° N, 23.6° E), during 21–26 May 2014. This event was studied using a synergy of a 6-wavelength elastic-Raman-depolarization lidar measurements, a CIMEL sun photometer, and in situ instrumentation. The FLEXPART dispersion model was used to identify the aerosol sources and quantify the contribution of dust and black carbon particles to the mass concentration. The identified air masses were found to originate from Kazakhstan and Saharan deserts, under a rare atmospheric pressure system. The lidar ratio (LR) values retrieved from the Raman lidar ranged within 25–89 sr (355 nm) and 35–70 sr (532 nm). The particle linear depolarization ratio (δaer) ranged from 7 to 28% (532 nm), indicating mixing of dust with biomass-burning particles. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) values derived from the lidar ranged from 0.09–0.43 (355 nm) to 0.07–0.25 (532 nm). An inversion algorithm was used to derive the mean aerosol microphysical properties (mean effective radius (reff), single scattering albedo (SSA), and mean complex refractive index (m)) inside selected atmospheric layers. We found that reff was 0.12–0.51 (±0.04) µm, SSA was 0.94–0.98 (±0.19) (at 532 nm), while m ranged between 1.39 (±0.05) + 0.002 (±0.001)i and 1.63 (±0.05) + 0.008 (±0.004)i. The polarization lidar photometer networking (POLIPHON) algorithm was used to estimate the vertical profile of the mass concentration for the dust and non-dust components. A mean mass concentration of 15 ± 5 μg m−3 and 80 ± 29 μg m−3 for smoke and dust was estimated for selected days, respectively. Finally, the retrieved aerosol microphysical properties were compared with column-integrated sun photometer CIMEL data with good agreement.

POLIPHON conversion factors for retrieving dust-related cloud condensation nuclei and ice-nucleating particle concentration profiles at oceanic sites

Abstract. Aerosol–cloud interactions (ACIs) are the largest contributor to the uncertainty in the global radiation budget. To improve the current consideration of ACIs in global circulation models, it is necessary to characterize the 3-D distribution of dust-related cloud condensation nuclei concentration (CCNC) and ice-nucleating particle concentration (INPC) globally. This can potentially be realized using the POlarization LIdar PHOtometer Networking (POLIPHON) method together with spaceborne lidar observations. However, dust-related conversion factors that convert bulk aerosol optical properties from lidar measurements to aerosol microphysical properties are still less constrained in many regions, which limits the applications of the POLIPHON method. Here we retrieve the essential dust-related conversion factors at remote oceanic and coastal sites using the historical AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) database. Depolarization-ratio-based dust ratios Rd at 1020 nm are applied to identify the dust-occurring cases, thus enabling us to contain fine-mode dust-dominated cases (after the preferential removal of large-sized dust particles during transport), study the evolution of dust microphysical properties along the transoceanic pathway, and mitigate occasional interference of large-sized marine aerosols. The newly proposed scheme is proven to be valid and feasible by intercomparisons with previous studies at nine sites in/near deserts. The dust-related conversion factors are calculated at 20 oceanic and coastal sites using both pure dust (PD) and PD plus dust-dominated mixture (PD+DDM) datasets. At nearly half of the sites, the conversion factors are solely calculated using the PD datasets, while at the remaining sites, the participation of DDM datasets is required to ensure a sufficient number of data for the calculation. Evident variation trends in conversion factors are found for cv,d (extinction-to-volume concentration, gradually decreasing), c250,d (extinction-to-particle (with a radius > 250 nm) number concentration, gradually increasing), and cs,d (extinction-to-surface-area concentration, gradually decreasing) along both the transpacific and transatlantic dust transport pathways. The retrieved dust-related conversion factors are anticipated to inverse 3-D dust-related CCNC and INPC distributions globally, thereby improving the understanding of ACIs in atmospheric circulation models.

Simultaneous Use of Ground-Based and Satellite Observation to Evaluate Atmospheric Air Pollution over Amman, Jordan

In this study, a combination of ground-based particulate matter measurements in synergy with space-borne CALIOP lidar recordings, meteorological observations, and reanalysis models have been used to study atmospheric air pollution over Amman, Jordan. The measurement was conducted over a 24-month period spanning from January 2018 to the end of December 2019. The CALIOP aerosol profiles and aerosol layer products version 4.21, level 2, with 5 km horizontal resolution were used to evaluate the vertical structure of the atmospheric constituent over the Amman region. The particle depolarization ratio (PDR) was extracted from CALIOP recordings and has been utilized to classify the type of atmospheric aerosols. This method reveals that the atmosphere above Amman mostly contains three different aerosol types including coarse-mode dust, fine-mode dust (polluted dust), and non-dust aerosols (pollution). Aerosols with 0 < δp≤ 0.075 are categorized as pollution, aerosols with 0.075 < δp≤ 0.20 as polluted dust, and aerosols with 0.20 < δp≤ 0.40 are classified as dust. Both the one- and two-step POlarization-LIdar PHOtometer Networking (POLIPHON) approaches have been applied to the CALIOP aerosol profile product to retrieve the vertical profile of the optical and micro-physical properties of each aerosol type. Lofted-layer top heights and layer thickness in the atmosphere above Amman during the study period were also extracted from the CALIOP aerosol layer products. The highest frequency of occurrence was observed for layers with a top height of 0.5 to 2.5 km with a second smaller peak at 3.5 km. The maximum frequency of the lofted layers (40% of cases) were observed with layer thickness below 0.5 km. For layers with a top height lower than 500 m above ground level, the atmosphere was mostly impacted by polluted dust and pollution aerosols. On the other hand, for layers with a top height above 2500 m agl, the atmosphere was contaminated by depolarizing dust particles.

Technical note: Identification of two ice-nucleating regimes for dust-related cirrus clouds based on the relationship between number concentrations of ice-nucleating particles and ice crystals

Abstract. Large amounts of dust aerosols are lifted to the upper troposphere every year and play a major role in cirrus formation by acting as efficient ice nuclei. However, the relative importance of heterogeneous nucleation and spontaneous homogenous nucleation in dust-related cirrus clouds is still not well evaluated globally. Here, based on spaceborne observations, we propose a method to identify two ice-nucleating regimes of dust-related cirrus clouds, i.e., (1) the sole presence of heterogeneous nucleation and (2) competition between heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation, by characterizing the relationship between dust ice-nucleating particle concentrations (INPCs) calculated from the Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) using the POlarization LIdar PHOtometer Networking (POLIPHON) method and in-cloud ice crystal number concentration (ICNC) from the DARDAR (lidar–radar) dataset. Two typical cirrus cases over central China are shown as a demonstration. In the first case, the upper part (near the cloud top) of a series of cirrus clouds successfully realized the INPC–ICNC closure, meaning that solely heterogeneous nucleation takes place, while the lower part of cirrus clouds showed the possible competition between heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation. In the second case, the ICNCs in the cirrus cloud dramatically exceeded the dust INPCs in the vicinity by more than an order of magnitude, revealing that besides dust-induced heterogeneous nucleation, homogeneous nucleation also participated in ice formation and produced additional ice crystals. The proposed identification method is anticipated to apply in the evaluation of the influence of upper-troposphere dust on global cirrus formation and the investigation of the potential positive role of cirrus cloud thinning in the offset of climate warming.

Evaluation of aerosol number concentrations from CALIPSO with ATom airborne in situ measurements

Abstract. The present study aims to evaluate the available aerosol number concentration (ANC) retrieval algorithms for spaceborne lidar CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) aboard the CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) satellite with the airborne in situ measurements from the ATom (Atmospheric Tomography Mission) campaign. We used HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model) to match both the measurements in space and identified 53 cases that were suitable for comparison. Since the ATom data include the dry aerosol extinction coefficient, we used kappa parameterization to adjust the ambient measurements from CALIOP to dry conditions. As both the datasets have a different vertical resolution, we regrid them to uniform height bins of 240 m from the surface to a height of 5 km. On comparing the dry extinction coefficients, we found a reasonable agreement between the CALIOP and ATom measurements with Spearman's correlation coefficient of 0.715. Disagreement was found mostly for retrievals above 3 km altitude. Thus, to compare the ANC, which may vary by orders of magnitude in space and time, we further limit the datasets and only select those height bins for which the CALIOP-derived dry extinction coefficient is within ±50 % of the ATom measurements. This additional filter further increases the probability of comparing the same air parcel. The altitude bins which qualify the extinction coefficient constraint are used to estimate ANC with a dry radius >50 nm (n50,dry) and >250 nm (n250,dry). The POLIPHON (Polarization Lidar Photometer Networking) and OMCAM (Optical Modelling of CALIPSO Aerosol Microphysics) algorithms were used to estimate the n50,dry and n250,dry. The POLIPHON estimates of n50,dry and n250,dry were found to be in good agreement with the in situ measurements, with a correlation coefficient of 0.829 and 0.47, root mean square error (RMSE) of 234 and 13 cm−3, and bias of −97 and 4 cm−3, respectively. The OMCAM estimates of n50,dry and n250,dry were also in reasonable agreement with the in situ measurements, with a correlation coefficient of 0.823 and 0.463, RMSE of 247 and 13 cm−3, and bias of 44 and 4 cm−3, respectively. However, we found that the OMCAM-estimated n50,dry were about an order of magnitude less than the in situ measurements for marine-dominated cases. We propose a modification to the OMCAM algorithm by using an AERONET-based marine model. With the updated OMCAM algorithm, the n50,dry agrees well with the ATom measurements. Such concurrence between the satellite-derived ANC and the independent ATom in situ measurements emboldens the use of CALIOP in studying the aerosol–cloud interactions.

Estimating cloud condensation nuclei concentrations from CALIPSO lidar measurements

Abstract. We present a novel methodology to estimate cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations from spaceborne CALIPSO (Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) lidar measurements. The algorithm utilizes (i) the CALIPSO-derived backscatter and extinction coefficient, depolarization ratio, and aerosol subtype information; (ii) the normalized volume size distributions and refractive indices from the CALIPSO aerosol model; and (iii) the MOPSMAP (modelled optical properties of ensembles of aerosol particles) optical modelling package. For each CALIPSO height bin, we first select the aerosol-type specific size distribution and then adjust it to reproduce the extinction coefficient derived from the CALIPSO retrieval. The scaled size distribution is integrated to estimate the aerosol number concentration, which is then used in the CCN parameterizations to calculate CCN concentrations at different supersaturations. To account for the hygroscopicity of continental and marine aerosols, we use the kappa parameterization and correct the size distributions before the scaling step. The sensitivity of the derived CCN concentrations to variations in the initial size distributions is also examined. It is found that the uncertainty associated with the algorithm can range between a factor of 2 and 3. Our results are comparable to results obtained using the POLIPHON (Polarization Lidar Photometer Networking) method for extinction coefficients larger than 0.05 km−1. An initial application to a case with coincident airborne in situ measurements for independent validation shows promising results and illustrates the potential of CALIPSO for constructing a global height-resolved CCN climatology.

Retrievals of dust-related particle mass and ice-nucleating particle concentration profiles with ground-based polarization lidar and sun photometer over a megacity in central China

Abstract. The POLIPHON (polarization lidar photometer networking) method is a powerful pathway to retrieve the height profiles of dust-related particle mass and ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations. The conversion factors fitted from the sun photometer observation data are the major part of the POLIPHON computations, which can convert the polarization-lidar-derived dust extinction coefficients into dust-related particle mass and INP concentrations. For the central Chinese megacity of Wuhan (30.5∘ N, 114.4∘ E), located at the downstream area several thousands of kilometers far away from the source regions of Asian dust, dust particles always mix with other aerosols from local emissions. Therefore, very few dust case data sets can be available when using the column-integrated Ångström exponent (for 440–870 nm) <0.3 and aerosol optical depth (at 532 nm) >0.1 recorded by a sun photometer as the filtering criteria. Instead, we present another dust case data set screening scheme that applies the simultaneous polarization lidar observation to verify the occurrence of dust. Based on the 33 dust-intrusion days identified during 2011–2013, the extinction-to-volume (cv,d) and extinction-to-large particle (with radius >250 nm) number concentration (c250,d) conversion factors are determined to be (0.52±0.12)×10-12Mmm3m-3 and 0.19±0.05 Mm cm−3, respectively. The c250,d for Wuhan is 27 % larger than that observed at Lanzhou SACOL (36.0∘ N, 104.1∘ E), a site closer to the Gobi Desert, and tends to be closer to those observed in North Africa and the Middle East, indicating dust aerosols from these two sources are also possibly involved in the dust events observed over Wuhan. As a comparison, the conversion factor c290,c of 0.11±0.02Mmcm-3 for continental aerosol is much smaller than c250,d, indicating that there is no significant influence of urban aerosols on the retrievals of dust-related conversion factor over Wuhan. The conversion factors are applied in a dust event in Wuhan to reveal the typical dust-related immersion-mode INP concentration over East Asian cities. The proposed dust case data set screening scheme may potentially be extended to the other polluted city sites that are more influenced by mixed dust.

Hygroscopicity of Different Types of Aerosol Particles: Case Studies Using Multi-Instrument Data in Megacity Beijing, China

Water uptake by aerosol particles alters its light-scattering characteristics significantly. However, the hygroscopicities of different aerosol particles are not the same due to their different chemical and physical properties. Such differences are explored by making use of extensive measurements concerning aerosol optical and microphysical properties made during a field experiment from December 2018 to March 2019 in Beijing. The aerosol hygroscopic growth was captured by the aerosol optical characteristics obtained from micropulse lidar, aerosol chemical composition, and aerosol particle size distribution information from ground monitoring, together with conventional meteorological measurements. Aerosol hygroscopicity behaves rather distinctly for mineral dust coarse-mode aerosol (Case I) and non-dust fine-mode aerosol (Case II) in terms of the hygroscopic enhancement factor, f β ( R H , λ 532 ) , calculated for the same humidity range. The two types of aerosols were identified by applying the polarization lidar photometer networking method (POLIPHON). The hygroscopicity for non-dust aerosol was much higher than that for dust conditions with the f β ( R H , λ 532 ) being around 1.4 and 3.1, respectively, at the relative humidity of 86% for the two cases identified in this study. To study the effect of dust particles on the hygroscopicity of the overall atmospheric aerosol, the two types of aerosols were identified and separated by applying the polarization lidar photometer networking method in Case I. The hygroscopic enhancement factor of separated non-dust fine-mode particles in Case I had been significantly strengthened, getting closer to that of the total aerosol in Case II. These results were verified by the hygroscopicity parameter, κ (Case I non-dust particles: 0.357 ± 0.024; Case II total: 0.344 ± 0.026), based on the chemical components obtained by an aerosol chemical speciation instrument, both of which showed strong hygroscopicity. It was found that non-dust fine-mode aerosol contributes more during hygroscopic growth and that non-hygroscopic mineral dust aerosol may reduce the total hygroscopicity per unit volume in Beijing.

Dust mass, cloud condensation nuclei, and ice-nucleating particle profiling with polarization lidar: updated POLIPHON conversion factors from global AERONET analysis

Abstract. The POLIPHON (Polarization Lidar Photometer Networking) method permits the retrieval of particle number, surface area, and volume concentration for dust and non-dust aerosol components. The obtained microphysical properties are used to estimate height profiles of particle mass, cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) and ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations. The conversion of aerosol-type-dependent particle extinction coefficients, derived from polarization lidar observations, into the aerosol microphysical properties (number, surface area, volume) forms the central part of the POLIPHON computations. The conversion parameters are determined from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) aerosol climatologies of optical and microphysical properties. In this article, we focus on the dust-related POLIPHON retrieval products and present an extended set of dust conversion factors considering all relevant deserts around the globe. We apply the new conversion factor set to a dust measurement with polarization lidar in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in central Asia. Strong aerosol layering was observed with mineral dust advected from Kazakhstan (0–2 km height), Iran (2–5 km), the Arabian peninsula (5–7 km), and the Sahara (8–10 km). POLIPHON results obtained with different sets of conversion parameters were contrasted in this central Asian case study and permitted an estimation of the conversion uncertainties.

Separation of the optical and mass features of particle components in different aerosol mixtures by using POLIPHON retrievals in synergy with continuous polarized Micro-Pulse Lidar (P-MPL) measurements

Abstract. The application of the POLIPHON (POlarization-LIdar PHOtometer Networking) method is presented for the first time in synergy with continuous 24/7 polarized Micro-Pulse Lidar (P-MPL) measurements to derive the vertical separation of two or three particle components in different aerosol mixtures, and the retrieval of their particular optical properties. The procedure of extinction-to-mass conversion, together with an analysis of the mass extinction efficiency (MEE) parameter, is described, and the relative mass contribution of each aerosol component is also derived in a further step. The general POLIPHON algorithm is based on the specific particle linear depolarization ratio given for different types of aerosols and can be run in either 1-step (POL-1) or 2 steps (POL-2) versions with dependence on either the 2- or 3-component separation. In order to illustrate this procedure, aerosol mixing cases observed over Barcelona (NE Spain) are selected: a dust event on 5 July 2016, smoke plumes detected on 23 May 2016 and a pollination episode observed on 23 March 2016. In particular, the 3-component separation is just applied for the dust case: a combined POL-1 with POL-2 procedure (POL-1/2) is used, and additionally the fine-dust contribution to the total fine mode (fine dust plus non-dust aerosols) is estimated. The high dust impact before 12:00 UTC yields a mean mass loading of 0.6±0.1 g m−2 due to the prevalence of Saharan coarse-dust particles. After that time, the mean mass loading is reduced by two-thirds, showing a rather weak dust incidence. In the smoke case, the arrival of fine biomass-burning particles is detected at altitudes as high as 7 km. The smoke particles, probably mixed with less depolarizing non-smoke aerosols, are observed in air masses, having their origin from either North American fires or the Arctic area, as reported by HYSPLIT back-trajectory analysis. The particle linear depolarization ratio for smoke shows values in the 0.10–0.15 range and even higher at given times, and the daily mean smoke mass loading is 0.017±0.008 g m−2, around 3 % of that found for the dust event. Pollen particles are detected up to 1.5 km in height from 10:00 UTC during an intense pollination event with a particle linear depolarization ratio ranging between 0.10 and 0.15. The maximal mass loading of Platanus pollen particles is 0.011±0.003 g m−2, representing around 2 % of the dust loading during the higher dust incidence. Regarding the MEE derived for each aerosol component, their values are in agreement with others referenced in the literature for the specific aerosol types examined in this work: 0.5±0.1 and 1.7±0.2 m2 g−1 are found for coarse and fine dust particles, 4.5±1.4 m2 g−1 is derived for smoke and 2.4±0.5 m2 g−1 for non-smoke aerosols with Arctic origin, and a MEE of 2.4±0.8 m2 g−1 is obtained for pollen particles, though it can reach higher or lower values depending on predominantly smaller or larger pollen grain sizes. Results reveal the high potential of the P-MPL system, a simple polarization-sensitive elastic backscatter lidar working in a 24/7 operation mode, to retrieve the relative optical and mass contributions of each aerosol component throughout the day, reflecting the daily variability of their properties. In fact, this procedure can be simply implemented in other P-MPLs that also operate within the worldwide Micro-Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET), thus extending the aerosol discrimination at a global scale. Moreover, the method has the advantage of also being relatively easily applicable to space-borne lidars with an equivalent configuration such as the ongoing Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) on board NASA CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) and the forthcoming Atmospheric Lidar (ATLID) on board the ESA EarthCARE mission.

Vertical separation of the atmospheric aerosol components by using poliphon retrieval in polarized micro pulse lidar (P-MPL) measurements: case studies of specific climate-relevant aerosol types

POLIPHON (POlarization-LIdar PHOtometer Networking) retrieval consists in the vertical separation of two/three particle components in aerosol mixtures, highlighting their relative contributions in terms of the optical properties and mass concentrations. This method is based on the specific particle linear depolarization ratio given for different types of aerosols, and is applied to the new polarized Micro-Pulse Lidar (P-MPL). Case studies of specific climate-relevant aerosols (dust particles, fire smoke, and pollen aerosols, including a clean case as reference) observed over Barcelona (Spain) are presented in order to evaluate firstly the potential of P-MPLs measurements in combination with POLIPHON for retrieving the vertical separation of those particle components forming aerosol mixtures and their properties.

Lidar Ice nuclei estimates and how they relate with airborne in-situ measurements

By means of available ice nucleating particle (INP) parameterization schemes we compute profiles of dust INP number concentration utilizing Polly-XT and CALIPSO lidar observations during the INUIT-BACCHUS-ACTRIS 2016 campaign. The polarization-lidar photometer networking (POLIPHON) method is used to separate dust and non-dust aerosol backscatter, extinction, mass concentration, particle number concentration (for particles with radius > 250 nm) and surface area concentration. The INP final products are compared with aerosol samples collected from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and analyzed using the ice nucleus counter FRIDGE.

Potential of polarization/Raman lidar to separate fine dust, coarse dust, maritime, and anthropogenic aerosol profiles

Abstract. We applied the recently introduced polarization lidar–photometer networking (POLIPHON) technique for the first time to triple-wavelength polarization lidar measurements at 355, 532, and 1064 nm. The lidar observations were performed at Barbados during the Saharan Aerosol Long-Range Transport and Aerosol-Cloud-Interaction Experiment (SALTRACE) in the summer of 2014. The POLIPHON method comprises the traditional lidar technique to separate mineral dust and non-dust backscatter contributions and the new, extended approach to separate even the fine and coarse dust backscatter fractions. We show that the traditional and the advanced method are compatible and lead to a consistent set of dust and non-dust profiles at simplified, less complex aerosol layering and mixing conditions as is the case over the remote tropical Atlantic. To derive dust mass concentration profiles from the lidar observations, trustworthy extinction-to-volume conversion factors for fine, coarse, and total dust are needed and obtained from an updated, extended Aerosol Robotic Network sun photometer data analysis of the correlation between the fine, coarse and total dust volume concentration and the respective fine, coarse, and total dust extinction coefficient for all three laser wavelengths. Conversion factors (total volume to extinction) for pure marine aerosol conditions and continental anthropogenic aerosol situations are presented in addition. As a new feature of the POLIPHON data analysis, the Raman lidar method for particle extinction profiling is used to identify the aerosol type (marine or anthropogenic) of the non-dust aerosol fraction. The full POLIPHON methodology was successfully applied to a SALTRACE case and the results are discussed. We conclude that the 532 nm polarization lidar technique has many advantages in comparison to 355 and 1064 nm polarization lidar approaches and leads to the most robust and accurate POLIPHON products.

Fine and coarse dust separation with polarization lidar

Abstract. The polarization-lidar photometer networking (POLIPHON) method for separating dust and non-dust aerosol backscatter and extinction, volume, and mass concentration is extended to allow for a height-resolved separation of fine-mode and coarse-mode dust properties in addition. The method is applied to a period with complex aerosol layering of fine-mode background dust from Turkey and Arabian desert dust from Syria. The observation was performed at the combined European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) site of Limassol (34.7° N, 33° E), Cyprus, in September 2011. The dust profiling methodology and case studies are presented. Consistency between the column-integrated optical properties obtained with sun/sky photometer and the respective results derived by means of the new lidar-based method corroborate the applicability of the extended POLIPHON version.

Optical, size and mass properties of mixed type aerosols in Greece and Romania as observed by synergy of lidar and sunphotometers in combination with model simulations: A case study

A coordinated experimental campaign aiming to study the aerosol optical, size and mass properties was organized in September 2012, in selected sites in Greece and Romania. It was based on the synergy of lidar and sunphotometers. In this paper we focus on a specific campaign period (23–24 September), where mixed type aerosols (Saharan dust, biomass burning and continental) were confined from the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) up to 4–4.5km height. Hourly mean linear depolarization and lidar ratio values were measured inside the dust layers, ranging from 13 to 29 and from 44 to 65sr, respectively, depending on their mixing status and the corresponding air mass pathways over Greece and Romania. During this event the columnar Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) values ranged from 0.13 to 0.26 at 532nm. The Lidar/Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) and the Polarization Lidar Photometer Networking (POLIPHON) codes were used and inter-compared with regards to the retrieved aerosol (fine and coarse spherical/spheroid) mass concentrations, showing that LIRIC generally overestimates the aerosol mass concentrations, in the case of spherical particles. For non-spherical particles the difference in the retrieved mass concentration profiles from these two codes remained smaller than ±20%. POLIPHON retrievals showed that the non-spherical particles reached concentrations of the order of 100–140μg/m3 over Romania compared to 50–75μg/m3 over Greece. Finally, the Dust Regional Atmospheric Model (DREAM) model was used to simulate the dust concentrations over the South-Eastern Europe.

Profiling of fine and coarse particle mass: case studies of Saharan dust and Eyjafjallajökull/Grimsvötn volcanic plumes

Abstract. The polarization lidar photometer networking (POLIPHON) method introduced to separate coarse-mode and fine-mode particle properties of Eyjafjallajökull volcanic aerosols in 2010 is extended to cover Saharan dust events as well. Furthermore, new volcanic dust observations performed after the Grimsvötn volcanic eruptions in 2011 are presented. The retrieval of particle mass concentrations requires mass-specific extinction coefficients. Therefore, a review of recently published mass-specific extinction coefficients for Saharan dust and volcanic dust is given. Case studies of four different scenarios corroborate the applicability of the profiling technique: (a) Saharan dust outbreak to central Europe, (b) Saharan dust plume mixed with biomass-burning smoke over Cape Verde, and volcanic aerosol layers originating from (c) the Eyjafjallajökull eruptions in 2010 and (d) the Grimsvötn eruptions in 2011. Strong differences in the vertical aerosol layering, aerosol mixing, and optical properties are observed for the different volcanic events.