HR: 1340h
AN: A43C-1427    [Abstracts]
TI: Vertical aerosol structure and aerosol mixed layer heights determined with scanning shipborne lidars during the TexAQS II study
AU: * McCarty, B J
EM: brandi.mccarty@noaa.gov
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado/NOAA, R/CSD3, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, United States
AU: Senff, C J
EM: christoph.senff@noaa.gov
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado/NOAA, R/CSD3, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, United States
AU: Tucker, S C
EM: sara.tucker@noaa.gov
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado/NOAA, R/CSD3, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, United States
AU: Eberhard, W L
EM: wynn.eberhard@noaa.gov
AF: NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory, R/CSD3, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, United States
AU: Marchbanks, R D
EM: richard.marchbanks@noaa.gov
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado/NOAA, R/CSD3, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, United States
AU: Machol, J
EM: janet.machol@noaa.gov
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado/NOAA, R/CSD3, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, United States
AU: Brewer, W A
EM: alan.brewer@noaa.gov
AF: NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory, R/CSD3, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, United States
AB: The NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL) deployed the Ozone Profiling Atmospheric LIDAR (OPAL) on the R/V Ronald H. Brown during the summer of 2006 for the Texas Air Quality Study (TEXAQS II). Calibrated aerosol backscatter profiles were determined from data collected at the 355 nm wavelength using a modified Klett retrieval method. OPAL employs a unique scan sequence that consists of staring at multiple elevation angles between 2 and 90 degrees, which is repeated approx. every 90 sec. Blending the data from the various elevation angles allows to extend the aerosol backscatter profiles down to near the surface (approximately 10 meters ASL), while maintaining a high spatial resolution (5 meters). Successful application of this technique requires the aerosol distribution to be sufficiently horizontally homogeneous over several kilometers. Estimates of aerosol mixed layer height were determined by applying a Haar wavelet transform method to detect the gradient that is often present at the top of the boundary layer. Co-located on the R/V Ronald H. Brown, was NOAA/ESRL's High Resolution Doppler LIDAR (HRDL). Aerosol mixed layer heights were also estimated using the data from the 2 micron Doppler LIDAR. A comparison of the mixed layer heights as determined from each LIDAR's observations was used to choose the height of the layer likely connected with the surface. The vertical structure of aerosols in the lower troposphere, in particular the presence of aerosol layers above the boundary layer, is important in understanding radiative effects of aerosols. We will present aerosol backscatter structure in the lower troposphere encountered during the TexAQS II study as well as a comparison of relative aerosol content in the free troposphere compared to that within the boundary layer.
DE: 0300 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE
DE: 0305 Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801, 4906)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting