| Volumes and Issues Contents of Issue 1 Special Issue |
www.atmos-meas-tech-discuss.net/4/73/2011/
doi:10.5194/amtd-4-73-2011
© Author(s) 2011. This work is distributed
under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Inter-comparison of lidar and ceilometer retrievals for aerosol and Planetary Boundary Layer profiling over Athens, Greece
1Laser Remote Sensing Unit, Department of Physics, National Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechniou 9, Zografou Campus, 15780 Athens, Greece
2Institute for Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, Greece
3Atmospheric Research Team, Institute of Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Lofos Nymphon, 11810 Athens, Greece
4Raymetrics S.A., Papathanasiou 12, 19002 Paiania, Athens, Greece
Abstract. This study presents an inter-comparison of two active remote sensors (lidar and ceilometer) in determining the structure of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) and in retrieving tropospheric aerosol vertical profiles over Athens, Greece. This inter-comparison was performed under various strongly different aerosol concentrations (urban air pollution, biomass burning and Saharan dust event), implementing two different lidar systems (one portable Raymetrics S.A. lidar system running at 355 nm and one multi-wavelength Raman lidar system running at 355 nm, 532 nm and 1064 nm) and one CL31 Vaisala S.A. ceilometer (running at 910 nm). To convert the ceilometer data to data having the same wavelengths as those from the lidar, the backscatter-related Ångström exponent was estimated using ultraviolet multi-filter radiometer (UV-MFR) data. The inter-comparison was based on two parameters: the mixing layer structure and height determined by the presence of the suspended aerosols and the aerosol backscatter coefficient. Additionally, radiosonde data were used to derive the PBL height. In general a good agreement is found between the ceilometer and the lidar techniques in both inter-compared parameters in the height range from 500 m to 5000 m, while the limitations of each instrument are also examined.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 2717 KB) Interactive Discussion (Closed, 7 Comments) Final Revised Paper (AMT) Special Issue
Notice on Discussion StatusCitation: Tsaknakis, G., Papayannis, A., Kokkalis, P., Amiridis, V., Kambezidis, H. D., Mamouri, R. E., Georgoussis, G., and Avdikos, G.: Inter-comparison of lidar and ceilometer retrievals for aerosol and Planetary Boundary Layer profiling over Athens, Greece, Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., 4, 73-99, doi:10.5194/amtd-4-73-2011, 2011. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
