HR: 1340h
AN: A23A-0879    [Abstracts]
TI: One year of EARLINET correlative measurements for CALIPSO
AU: * Pappalardo, G
EM: pappalardo@imaa.cnr.it
AF: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Metodologie per l'Analisi Ambientale CNR- IMAA, C.da S. Loja, Tito Scalo, Potenza, I-85050, Italy
AB: EARLINET is the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network providing systematic observations of aerosol profiling on continental scale. At present, the network includes 25 stations distributed over Europe: 10 single backscatter lidar stations, 8 Raman lidar stations with the UV Raman channel for independent measurements of aerosol extinction and backscatter, and 7 multi-wavelength Raman lidar stations for the retrieval of aerosol microphysical properties. EARLINET represents an optimal tool to validate CALIPSO lidar data and to provide the necessary information to fully exploit the data produced from that mission. In particular, aerosol extinction and lidar ratio measurements, provided by the network, will be important for the aerosol retrievals from the backscatter lidar (CALIOP) on board CALIPSO. EARLINET started correlative measurements for CALIPSO since 14 June 2006. A suitable, three-stage strategy for correlative measurements has been implemented within EARLINET on the base of the analysis of the high resolution ground track data provided by NASA. EARLINET correlative measurements are performed at stations located within 80km from the overpasses and additionally at the lidar stations which are closest to the actually overpassed site. Moreover, if a multi-wavelength Raman lidar station is overpassed then also the next closest multi-wavelength Raman lidar station performs a measurement. Each correlative measurement lasts for a minimum of 1 hour centered around the overpass time; longer records of measurements are performed for special case studies (Saharan dust layers, forest fires, long range transport, etc.). Further information from backtrajectory analysis are used to quantitatively study comparisons between CALIPSO and EARLINET observations. EARLINET performed more than 1000 correlative observations during the first operational year of CALIPSO (June 2006 – June 2007), first results in terms of comparisons between EARLINET and available CALIPSO products will be presented. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The financial support by the European Commission under grant RICA-025991 is gratefully acknowledged. The authors also thank the German Weather Service for the air mass backtrajectory analysis and the CALIPSO team of the NASA Langley Research Center for the provision of the CALIPSO high resolution ground track data. CALIPSO data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center.
DE: 0305 Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801, 4906)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting