Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions www.atmos-meas-tech-discuss.net 1867-8610 2 1 2009 10.5194/amtd-2-561-2009 http://www.atmos-meas-tech-discuss.net/2/561/2009/ http://www.atmos-meas-tech-discuss.net/2/561/2009/amtd-2-561-2009.html http://www.atmos-meas-tech-discuss.net/2/561/2009/amtd-2-561-2009.pdf 561 587 2009-02-26 Validation of CALIPSO space-borne-derived aerosol vertical structures using a ground-based lidar in Athens, Greece R. E. Mamouri rmamouri@central.ntua.gr V. Amiridis A. Papayannis E. Giannakaki G. Tsaknakis D. S. Balis Laser Remote Sensing Laboratory, Physics Department, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece Institute for Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece We present initial aerosol validation results of the space-borne lidar CALIOP retrievals -onboard the CALIPSO satellite-, using coincident observations performed with a ground-based lidar in Athens, Greece (37.9° N, 23.6° E). A multi-wavelength ground-based backscatter/Raman lidar system is operating since 2000 at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in the framework of the European Aerosol Research LIdar NETwork (EARLINET), the first lidar network for tropospheric aerosol studies on a continental scale. Since July 2006, a total of 40 coincidental aerosol ground-based lidar measurements were performed over Athens during CALIPSO overpasses. The duration of the ground-based lidar measurements was approximately two hours, centred on the satellite overpass time. From the statistical analysis of the ground-based/satellite correlative lidar measurements, a mean bias of the order of 22% for daytime measurements and of 8% for nighttime measurements with respect to the CALIPSO profiles was found for altitudes between 3 and 10 km. The mean bias becomes much larger for altitudes lower that 3 km (of the order of 60%) which is attributed to the decrease of the CALIOP signal-to-noise ratio, as well as to the incomplete overlap height region of the ground based lidar and finally to the distance between the two instruments, resulting to the observation of possibly different air masses. In cases of aerosols layers underlying cirrus clouds, comparison results for aerosol tropospheric profiles become worst, illustrating the limitations of space-borne downward-looking lidar measurements due to strong signal attenuations. 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