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www.atmos-meas-tech-discuss.net/2/3027/2009/
doi:10.5194/amtd-2-3027-2009
© Author(s) 2009. This work is distributed
under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Optical properties of different aerosol types: seven years of combined Raman- elastic backscatter lidar measurements in Thessaloniki, Greece
1Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Thessaloniki, Greece
2Institute for Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, Greece
3Laboratory of Climatology, University of Athens, Greece
Abstract. We present our combined Raman/elastic backscatter lidar observations which were carried out at the EARLINET station of Thessaloniki, Greece, during the period 2001–2007. The largest optical depths are observed for Saharan dust and smoke aerosol loads. For "local" and "continental polluted" aerosols the measurements indicate moderate aerosol loads. However, measurements associated with the "local" path show lower values of free tropospheric contribution (37% versus 46% for "continental polluted") and thus, enhanced aerosol load within the Planetary Boundary Layer. The lowest value of aerosol optical depth is observed for "continental clean" aerosols. The largest lidar ratios, of the order of 70 sr are found for biomass burning aerosols. A significant and distinct correlation between lidar ratio and backscatter related Ångström exponent values was estimated for well defined aerosol categories, which provides a statistical measure of the lidar ratio's dependency on aerosol-size, which is a useful tool for elastic lidar systems. Scatter plot between lidar ratio values and Ångström exponent values for "local" and "continental polluted" aerosols does not show a significant correlation, with a large variation in both parameters possibly due to variable absorption characteristics of these aerosols. Finally for "clean continental" aerosols we found constantly low lidar ratios almost independent of size.
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Notice on Discussion StatusCitation: Giannakaki, E., Balis, D. S., Amiridis, V., and Zerefos, C.: Optical properties of different aerosol types: seven years of combined Raman- elastic backscatter lidar measurements in Thessaloniki, Greece, Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., 2, 3027-3054, doi:10.5194/amtd-2-3027-2009, 2009. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
