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Mark A Vaughan - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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CALIOP V4 cloud thermodynamic phase assignment and the impact of near-nadir viewing angles
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2020Co-Authors: Melody A. Avery, Mark A Vaughan, David M. Winker, Jacques Pelon, Anne Garnier, Robert A. Ryan, Brian J. Getzewich, Carolus C. VerhappenAbstract:Accurate determination of thermodynamic cloud phase is critical for establishing the radiative impact of clouds on climate and weather. Depolarization of the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) 532 nm signal provides an independent piece of information for determining cloud phase, a critical addition to other methods of thermodynamic phase discrimination that rely on temperature, cloud top altitude or a temperature-based cloud phase climatology. The CALIOP phase algorithm primarily uses layer-integrated depolarization and attenuated backscatter to determine the dominant thermodynamic phase of hydrometeors present in a vertical cloud layer segment, at horizontal resolutions varying between 333 m and 80 km. Ice cloud backscatter observations taken with a 0.3° near-nadir view include a significant amount of specular reflection from hexagonal smooth crystal faces that are oriented perpendicularly to the incident lidar beam. These specular reflections are often caused by horizontally oriented ice crystals (HOI), and are shown to occur between 0 and −40° C, with a peak in the distribution globally at −15° C. To avoid these reflections, the viewing angle was changed from 0.3 to 3° in November 2007. Since then the instrument has been observing clouds almost continuously for almost 12 more years. Recent viewing angle testing occurring during 2017 at 1, 1.5 and 2° quantifies the impact of changing the viewing angle to CALIOP global observations of attenuated backscatter and depolarization. These CALIOP results verify earlier observations by POLDER, showing that at the peak of the HOI distribution the mean backscatter from ice clouds decreases by 50 % and depolarization increases by a factor of 5 as the viewing angle increases from 0.3 to 3°. This has provided more data for a thorough evaluation of phase determination at the 3° viewing angle and suggested changes to the CALIOP cloud phase algorithm for Version 4 (V4). Combined with extensive calibration changes that impact the 532 nm and 1064 nm backscatter observations, V4 represents the first major Level 2 phase algorithm adjustment since 2009. For V4 the algorithm has been simplified to exclude over-identification of HOI at 3°, particularly in cold clouds. The V4 algorithm also considers temperature at the 532 nm cloud layer centroid, as opposed to cloud top or mid-cloud temperature as a secondary means of determining cloud phase and has been streamlined for more consistent identification of water and ice clouds. In this paper we summarize the major Version 3 (V3) to V4 cloud phase algorithm changes. We also characterize the impacts of applying the V4 phase algorithm globally and describe changes that can be expected when comparing V4 with V3. In V4 there are more cloud layers detected in V4, with edges that may extend further than in V3, for a combined increase in total atmospheric cloud volume of 6–9 % for high confidence cloud phases and 1–2 % for all cloudy bins. Some cloud layer boundaries have changed because 532 nm layer-integrated attenuated backscatter in V4 has increased due to improved calibration and extended layer boundaries, while the corresponding depolarization has stayed about the same. Collocated CALIPSO Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) observations of ice and water cloud particle microphysical indices complement the CALIOP ice and water cloud phase determinations.
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calipso lidar calibration at 1064 nm version 4 algorithm
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2019Co-Authors: Mark A Vaughan, William H. Hunt, Jacques Pelon, Zhaoyan Liu, Kam-pui Lee, Anne Garnier, Damien Josset, S P Burton, Melody A. Avery, Johnathan W HairAbstract:Abstract. Radiometric calibration of space-based elastic backscatter lidars is accomplished by comparing the measured backscatter signals to theoretically expected signals computed for some well-characterized calibration target. For any given system and wavelength, the choice of calibration target is dictated by several considerations, including signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and target availability. This paper describes the newly implemented procedures used to calibrate the 1064 nm measurements acquired by CALIOP (i.e., the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization), the two-wavelength (532 and 1064 nm) elastic backscatter lidar currently flying on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission. CALIOP's 532 nm channel is accurately calibrated by normalizing the molecular backscatter from the uppermost aerosol-free altitudes of the CALIOP measurement region to molecular model data obtained from NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office. However, because CALIOP's SNR for molecular backscatter measurements is prohibitively lower at 1064 nm than at 532 nm, the direct high-altitude molecular normalization method is not a viable option at 1064 nm. Instead, CALIOP's 1064 nm channel is calibrated relative to the 532 nm channel using the backscatter from a carefully selected subset of cirrus cloud measurements. In this paper we deliver a full account of the revised 1064 nm calibration algorithms implemented for the version 4.1 (V4) release of the CALIPSO lidar data products, with particular emphases on the physical basis for the selection of “calibration quality” cirrus clouds and on the new averaging scheme required to characterize intra-orbit calibration variability. The V4 procedures introduce latitudinally varying changes in the 1064 nm calibration coefficients of 25 % or more, relative to previous data releases, and are shown to substantially improve the accuracy of the V4 1064 nm attenuated backscatter coefficients. By evaluating calibration coefficients derived using both water clouds and ocean surfaces as alternate calibration targets, and through comparisons to independent, collocated measurements made by airborne high spectral resolution lidar, we conclude that the CALIOP V4 1064 nm calibration coefficients are accurate to within 3 %.
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the calipso version 4 automated aerosol classification and lidar ratio selection algorithm
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2018Co-Authors: Manhae Kim, Ali Omar, Mark A Vaughan, Charles R. Trepte, David M. Winker, Zhaoyan Liu, Jason L Tackett, Lamont R Poole, Michael C Pitts, Jayanta KarAbstract:Abstract. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) version 4.10 (V4) level 2 aerosol data products, released in November 2016, include substantial improvements to the aerosol subtyping and lidar ratio selection algorithms. These improvements are described along with resulting changes in aerosol optical depth (AOD). The most fundamental change in the V4 level 2 aerosol products is a new algorithm to identify aerosol subtypes in the stratosphere. Four aerosol subtypes are introduced for stratospheric aerosols: polar stratospheric aerosol (PSA), volcanic ash, sulfate/other, and smoke. The tropospheric aerosol subtyping algorithm was also improved by adding the following enhancements: (1) all aerosol subtypes are now allowed over polar regions, whereas the version 3 (V3) algorithm allowed only clean continental and polluted continental aerosols; (2) a new “dusty marine” aerosol subtype is introduced, representing mixtures of dust and marine aerosols near the ocean surface; and (3) the “polluted continental” and “smoke” subtypes have been renamed “polluted continental/smoke” and “elevated smoke”, respectively. V4 also revises the lidar ratios for clean marine, dust, clean continental, and elevated smoke subtypes. As a consequence of the V4 updates, the mean 532 nm AOD retrieved by CALIOP has increased by 0.044 (0.036) or 52 % (40 %) for nighttime (daytime). Lidar ratio revisions are the most influential factor for AOD changes from V3 to V4, especially for cloud-free skies. Preliminary validation studies show that the AOD discrepancies between CALIOP and AERONET–MODIS (ocean) are reduced in V4 compared to V3.
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extinction and optical depth retrievals for calipso s version 4 data release
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2018Co-Authors: Stuart A. Young, Mark A Vaughan, Jason L Tackett, Anne Garnier, James D Lambeth, Kathleen A PowellAbstract:Abstract. The Cloud–Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) on board the Cloud–Aerosol Lidar Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite has been making near-global height-resolved measurements of cloud and aerosol layers since mid-June 2006. Version 4.10 (V4) of the CALIOP data products, released in November 2016, introduces extensive upgrades to the algorithms used to retrieve the spatial and optical properties of these layers, and thus there are both obvious and subtle differences between V4 and previous data releases. This paper describes the improvements made to the extinction retrieval algorithms and illustrates the impacts of these changes on the extinction and optical depth estimates reported in the CALIPSO lidar level 2 data products. The lidar ratios for both aerosols and ice clouds are generally higher than in previous data releases, resulting in generally higher extinction coefficients and optical depths in V4. A newly implemented algorithm for retrieving extinction coefficients in opaque layers is described and its impact examined. Precise lidar ratio estimates are also retrieved in these opaque layers. For semi-transparent cirrus clouds, comparisons between CALIOP V4 optical depths and the optical depths reported by MODIS collection 6 show substantial improvements relative to earlier comparisons between CALIOP version 3 and MODIS collection 5.
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calipso lidar level 3 aerosol profile product version 3 algorithm design
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2018Co-Authors: Jason L Tackett, Stuart A. Young, Mark A Vaughan, David M. Winker, Brian Getzewich, Jayanta KarAbstract:Abstract. The CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) level 3 aerosol profile product reports globally gridded, quality-screened, monthly mean aerosol extinction profiles retrieved by CALIOP (the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization). This paper describes the quality screening and averaging methods used to generate the version 3 product. The fundamental input data are CALIOP level 2 aerosol extinction profiles and layer classification information (aerosol, cloud, and clear-air). Prior to aggregation, the extinction profiles are quality-screened by a series of filters to reduce the impact of layer detection errors, layer classification errors, extinction retrieval errors, and biases due to an intermittent signal anomaly at the surface. The relative influence of these filters are compared in terms of sample rejection frequency, mean extinction, and mean aerosol optical depth (AOD). The “extinction QC flag” filter is the most influential in preventing high-biases in level 3 mean extinction, while the “misclassified cirrus fringe” filter is most aggressive at rejecting cirrus misclassified as aerosol. The impact of quality screening on monthly mean aerosol extinction is investigated globally and regionally. After applying quality filters, the level 3 algorithm calculates monthly mean AOD by vertically integrating the monthly mean quality-screened aerosol extinction profile. Calculating monthly mean AOD by integrating the monthly mean extinction profile prevents a low bias that would result from alternately integrating the set of extinction profiles first and then averaging the resultant AOD values together. Ultimately, the quality filters reduce level 3 mean AOD by −24 and −31 % for global ocean and global land, respectively, indicating the importance of quality screening.
Zhaoyan Liu - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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calipso lidar calibration at 1064 nm version 4 algorithm
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2019Co-Authors: Mark A Vaughan, William H. Hunt, Jacques Pelon, Zhaoyan Liu, Kam-pui Lee, Anne Garnier, Damien Josset, S P Burton, Melody A. Avery, Johnathan W HairAbstract:Abstract. Radiometric calibration of space-based elastic backscatter lidars is accomplished by comparing the measured backscatter signals to theoretically expected signals computed for some well-characterized calibration target. For any given system and wavelength, the choice of calibration target is dictated by several considerations, including signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and target availability. This paper describes the newly implemented procedures used to calibrate the 1064 nm measurements acquired by CALIOP (i.e., the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization), the two-wavelength (532 and 1064 nm) elastic backscatter lidar currently flying on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission. CALIOP's 532 nm channel is accurately calibrated by normalizing the molecular backscatter from the uppermost aerosol-free altitudes of the CALIOP measurement region to molecular model data obtained from NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office. However, because CALIOP's SNR for molecular backscatter measurements is prohibitively lower at 1064 nm than at 532 nm, the direct high-altitude molecular normalization method is not a viable option at 1064 nm. Instead, CALIOP's 1064 nm channel is calibrated relative to the 532 nm channel using the backscatter from a carefully selected subset of cirrus cloud measurements. In this paper we deliver a full account of the revised 1064 nm calibration algorithms implemented for the version 4.1 (V4) release of the CALIPSO lidar data products, with particular emphases on the physical basis for the selection of “calibration quality” cirrus clouds and on the new averaging scheme required to characterize intra-orbit calibration variability. The V4 procedures introduce latitudinally varying changes in the 1064 nm calibration coefficients of 25 % or more, relative to previous data releases, and are shown to substantially improve the accuracy of the V4 1064 nm attenuated backscatter coefficients. By evaluating calibration coefficients derived using both water clouds and ocean surfaces as alternate calibration targets, and through comparisons to independent, collocated measurements made by airborne high spectral resolution lidar, we conclude that the CALIOP V4 1064 nm calibration coefficients are accurate to within 3 %.
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the calipso version 4 automated aerosol classification and lidar ratio selection algorithm
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2018Co-Authors: Manhae Kim, Ali Omar, Mark A Vaughan, Charles R. Trepte, David M. Winker, Zhaoyan Liu, Jason L Tackett, Lamont R Poole, Michael C Pitts, Jayanta KarAbstract:Abstract. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) version 4.10 (V4) level 2 aerosol data products, released in November 2016, include substantial improvements to the aerosol subtyping and lidar ratio selection algorithms. These improvements are described along with resulting changes in aerosol optical depth (AOD). The most fundamental change in the V4 level 2 aerosol products is a new algorithm to identify aerosol subtypes in the stratosphere. Four aerosol subtypes are introduced for stratospheric aerosols: polar stratospheric aerosol (PSA), volcanic ash, sulfate/other, and smoke. The tropospheric aerosol subtyping algorithm was also improved by adding the following enhancements: (1) all aerosol subtypes are now allowed over polar regions, whereas the version 3 (V3) algorithm allowed only clean continental and polluted continental aerosols; (2) a new “dusty marine” aerosol subtype is introduced, representing mixtures of dust and marine aerosols near the ocean surface; and (3) the “polluted continental” and “smoke” subtypes have been renamed “polluted continental/smoke” and “elevated smoke”, respectively. V4 also revises the lidar ratios for clean marine, dust, clean continental, and elevated smoke subtypes. As a consequence of the V4 updates, the mean 532 nm AOD retrieved by CALIOP has increased by 0.044 (0.036) or 52 % (40 %) for nighttime (daytime). Lidar ratio revisions are the most influential factor for AOD changes from V3 to V4, especially for cloud-free skies. Preliminary validation studies show that the AOD discrepancies between CALIOP and AERONET–MODIS (ocean) are reduced in V4 compared to V3.
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quantifying the low bias of calipso s column aerosol optical depth due to undetected aerosol layers
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2017Co-Authors: Ali Omar, Mark A Vaughan, Charles R. Trepte, David M. Winker, Zhaoyan Liu, Manhae Kim, Sang Woo KimAbstract:The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) data processing scheme only retrieves extinction profiles in those portions of the return signal where cloud or aerosol layers have been identified by the CALIOP layer detection scheme. In this study we use 2 years of CALIOP and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to quantify the aerosol optical depth of undetected weakly backscattering layers. Aerosol extinction and column-averaged lidar ratio is retrieved from CALIOP level 1B (version 4) profile using MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) as a constraint over oceans from March 2013 to February 2015. To quantify the undetected layer AOD (ULA), an unconstrained retrieval is applied globally using a lidar ratio of 28.75 sr estimated from constrained retrievals during the daytime over the ocean. We find a global mean ULA of 0.031 ± 0.052. There is no significant difference in ULA between land and ocean. However, the fraction of undetected aerosol layers rises considerably during daytime, when the large amount of solar background noise lowers the signal-to-noise ratio. For this reason, there is a difference in ULA between day (0.036 ± 0.066) and night (0.025 ± 0.021). ULA is larger in the northern hemisphere and relatively larger at high latitudes. Large ULA for the polar regions is strongly related to the cases where the CALIOP level 2 product reports zero AOD. This study provides an estimate of the complement of AOD that is not detected by lidar and bounds the CALIOP AOD uncertainty to provide corrections for science studies that employ the CALIOP level 2 AOD.
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the global 3 d distribution of tropospheric aerosols as characterized by CALIOP
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2013Co-Authors: David M. Winker, Mark A Vaughan, Zhaoyan Liu, Jason L Tackett, Brian Getzewich, R R RogersAbstract:Abstract. The CALIOP lidar, carried on the CALIPSO satellite, has been acquiring global atmospheric profiles since June 2006. This dataset now offers the opportunity to characterize the global 3-D distribution of aerosol as well as seasonal and interannual variations, and confront aerosol models with observations in a way that has not been possible before. With that goal in mind, a monthly global gridded dataset of daytime and nighttime aerosol extinction profiles has been constructed, available as a Level 3 aerosol product. Averaged aerosol profiles for cloud-free and all-sky conditions are reported separately. This 6-yr dataset characterizes the global 3-dimensional distribution of tropospheric aerosol. Vertical distributions are seen to vary with season, as both source strengths and transport mechanisms vary. In most regions, clear-sky and all-sky mean aerosol profiles are found to be quite similar, implying a lack of correlation between high semi-transparent cloud and aerosol in the lower troposphere. An initial evaluation of the accuracy of the aerosol extinction profiles is presented. Detection limitations and the representivity of aerosol profiles in the upper troposphere are of particular concern. While results are preliminary, we present evidence that the monthly-mean CALIOP aerosol profiles provide quantitative characterization of elevated aerosol layers in major transport pathways. Aerosol extinction in the free troposphere in clean conditions, where the true aerosol extinction is typically 0.001 km−1 or less, is generally underestimated, however. The work described here forms an initial global 3-D aerosol climatology which we plan to extend and improve over time.
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assessment of the calipso lidar 532 nm attenuated backscatter calibration using the nasa larc airborne high spectral resolution lidar
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2011Co-Authors: Raymond R. Rogers, Kathleen A Powell, Chris A. Hostetler, Zhaoyan Liu, Richard A. Ferrare, Johnathan W Hair, Anthony L Cook, D B Harper, M D Obland, Mark A VaughanAbstract:Abstract. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) spacecraft has provided global, high-resolution vertical profiles of aerosols and clouds since it became operational on 13 June 2006. On 14 June 2006, the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) was deployed aboard the NASA Langley B-200 aircraft for the first of a series of 86 underflights of the CALIPSO satellite to provide validation measurements for the CALIOP data products. To better assess the range of conditions under which CALIOP data products are produced, these validation flights were conducted under both daytime and nighttime lighting conditions, in multiple seasons, and over a large range of latitudes and aerosol and cloud conditions. This paper presents a quantitative assessment of the CALIOP 532 nm calibration (through the 532 nm total attenuated backscatter) using internally calibrated airborne HSRL underflight data and is the most extensive study of CALIOP 532 nm calibration. Results show that HSRL and CALIOP 532 nm total attenuated backscatter agree on average within 2.7% ± 2.1% (CALIOP lower) at night and within 2.9% ± 3.9% (CALIOP lower) during the day, demonstrating the accuracy of the CALIOP 532 nm calibration algorithms. Additionally, comparisons with HSRL show consistency of the CALIOP calibration before and after the laser switch in 2009 as well as improvements in the daytime version 3.01 calibration scheme compared with the version 2 calibration scheme. Potential biases and uncertainties in the methodology relevant to validating satellite lidar measurements with an airborne lidar system are discussed and found to be less than 4.5% ± 3.2% for this validation effort with HSRL. Results from this study are also compared with prior assessments of the CALIOP 532 nm attenuated backscatter calibration.
David M. Winker - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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CALIOP V4 cloud thermodynamic phase assignment and the impact of near-nadir viewing angles
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2020Co-Authors: Melody A. Avery, Mark A Vaughan, David M. Winker, Jacques Pelon, Anne Garnier, Robert A. Ryan, Brian J. Getzewich, Carolus C. VerhappenAbstract:Accurate determination of thermodynamic cloud phase is critical for establishing the radiative impact of clouds on climate and weather. Depolarization of the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) 532 nm signal provides an independent piece of information for determining cloud phase, a critical addition to other methods of thermodynamic phase discrimination that rely on temperature, cloud top altitude or a temperature-based cloud phase climatology. The CALIOP phase algorithm primarily uses layer-integrated depolarization and attenuated backscatter to determine the dominant thermodynamic phase of hydrometeors present in a vertical cloud layer segment, at horizontal resolutions varying between 333 m and 80 km. Ice cloud backscatter observations taken with a 0.3° near-nadir view include a significant amount of specular reflection from hexagonal smooth crystal faces that are oriented perpendicularly to the incident lidar beam. These specular reflections are often caused by horizontally oriented ice crystals (HOI), and are shown to occur between 0 and −40° C, with a peak in the distribution globally at −15° C. To avoid these reflections, the viewing angle was changed from 0.3 to 3° in November 2007. Since then the instrument has been observing clouds almost continuously for almost 12 more years. Recent viewing angle testing occurring during 2017 at 1, 1.5 and 2° quantifies the impact of changing the viewing angle to CALIOP global observations of attenuated backscatter and depolarization. These CALIOP results verify earlier observations by POLDER, showing that at the peak of the HOI distribution the mean backscatter from ice clouds decreases by 50 % and depolarization increases by a factor of 5 as the viewing angle increases from 0.3 to 3°. This has provided more data for a thorough evaluation of phase determination at the 3° viewing angle and suggested changes to the CALIOP cloud phase algorithm for Version 4 (V4). Combined with extensive calibration changes that impact the 532 nm and 1064 nm backscatter observations, V4 represents the first major Level 2 phase algorithm adjustment since 2009. For V4 the algorithm has been simplified to exclude over-identification of HOI at 3°, particularly in cold clouds. The V4 algorithm also considers temperature at the 532 nm cloud layer centroid, as opposed to cloud top or mid-cloud temperature as a secondary means of determining cloud phase and has been streamlined for more consistent identification of water and ice clouds. In this paper we summarize the major Version 3 (V3) to V4 cloud phase algorithm changes. We also characterize the impacts of applying the V4 phase algorithm globally and describe changes that can be expected when comparing V4 with V3. In V4 there are more cloud layers detected in V4, with edges that may extend further than in V3, for a combined increase in total atmospheric cloud volume of 6–9 % for high confidence cloud phases and 1–2 % for all cloudy bins. Some cloud layer boundaries have changed because 532 nm layer-integrated attenuated backscatter in V4 has increased due to improved calibration and extended layer boundaries, while the corresponding depolarization has stayed about the same. Collocated CALIPSO Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) observations of ice and water cloud particle microphysical indices complement the CALIOP ice and water cloud phase determinations.
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the calipso version 4 automated aerosol classification and lidar ratio selection algorithm
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2018Co-Authors: Manhae Kim, Ali Omar, Mark A Vaughan, Charles R. Trepte, David M. Winker, Zhaoyan Liu, Jason L Tackett, Lamont R Poole, Michael C Pitts, Jayanta KarAbstract:Abstract. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) version 4.10 (V4) level 2 aerosol data products, released in November 2016, include substantial improvements to the aerosol subtyping and lidar ratio selection algorithms. These improvements are described along with resulting changes in aerosol optical depth (AOD). The most fundamental change in the V4 level 2 aerosol products is a new algorithm to identify aerosol subtypes in the stratosphere. Four aerosol subtypes are introduced for stratospheric aerosols: polar stratospheric aerosol (PSA), volcanic ash, sulfate/other, and smoke. The tropospheric aerosol subtyping algorithm was also improved by adding the following enhancements: (1) all aerosol subtypes are now allowed over polar regions, whereas the version 3 (V3) algorithm allowed only clean continental and polluted continental aerosols; (2) a new “dusty marine” aerosol subtype is introduced, representing mixtures of dust and marine aerosols near the ocean surface; and (3) the “polluted continental” and “smoke” subtypes have been renamed “polluted continental/smoke” and “elevated smoke”, respectively. V4 also revises the lidar ratios for clean marine, dust, clean continental, and elevated smoke subtypes. As a consequence of the V4 updates, the mean 532 nm AOD retrieved by CALIOP has increased by 0.044 (0.036) or 52 % (40 %) for nighttime (daytime). Lidar ratio revisions are the most influential factor for AOD changes from V3 to V4, especially for cloud-free skies. Preliminary validation studies show that the AOD discrepancies between CALIOP and AERONET–MODIS (ocean) are reduced in V4 compared to V3.
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calipso lidar level 3 aerosol profile product version 3 algorithm design
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2018Co-Authors: Jason L Tackett, Stuart A. Young, Mark A Vaughan, David M. Winker, Brian Getzewich, Jayanta KarAbstract:Abstract. The CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) level 3 aerosol profile product reports globally gridded, quality-screened, monthly mean aerosol extinction profiles retrieved by CALIOP (the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization). This paper describes the quality screening and averaging methods used to generate the version 3 product. The fundamental input data are CALIOP level 2 aerosol extinction profiles and layer classification information (aerosol, cloud, and clear-air). Prior to aggregation, the extinction profiles are quality-screened by a series of filters to reduce the impact of layer detection errors, layer classification errors, extinction retrieval errors, and biases due to an intermittent signal anomaly at the surface. The relative influence of these filters are compared in terms of sample rejection frequency, mean extinction, and mean aerosol optical depth (AOD). The “extinction QC flag” filter is the most influential in preventing high-biases in level 3 mean extinction, while the “misclassified cirrus fringe” filter is most aggressive at rejecting cirrus misclassified as aerosol. The impact of quality screening on monthly mean aerosol extinction is investigated globally and regionally. After applying quality filters, the level 3 algorithm calculates monthly mean AOD by vertically integrating the monthly mean quality-screened aerosol extinction profile. Calculating monthly mean AOD by integrating the monthly mean extinction profile prevents a low bias that would result from alternately integrating the set of extinction profiles first and then averaging the resultant AOD values together. Ultimately, the quality filters reduce level 3 mean AOD by −24 and −31 % for global ocean and global land, respectively, indicating the importance of quality screening.
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quantifying the low bias of calipso s column aerosol optical depth due to undetected aerosol layers
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2017Co-Authors: Ali Omar, Mark A Vaughan, Charles R. Trepte, David M. Winker, Zhaoyan Liu, Manhae Kim, Sang Woo KimAbstract:The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) data processing scheme only retrieves extinction profiles in those portions of the return signal where cloud or aerosol layers have been identified by the CALIOP layer detection scheme. In this study we use 2 years of CALIOP and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to quantify the aerosol optical depth of undetected weakly backscattering layers. Aerosol extinction and column-averaged lidar ratio is retrieved from CALIOP level 1B (version 4) profile using MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) as a constraint over oceans from March 2013 to February 2015. To quantify the undetected layer AOD (ULA), an unconstrained retrieval is applied globally using a lidar ratio of 28.75 sr estimated from constrained retrievals during the daytime over the ocean. We find a global mean ULA of 0.031 ± 0.052. There is no significant difference in ULA between land and ocean. However, the fraction of undetected aerosol layers rises considerably during daytime, when the large amount of solar background noise lowers the signal-to-noise ratio. For this reason, there is a difference in ULA between day (0.036 ± 0.066) and night (0.025 ± 0.021). ULA is larger in the northern hemisphere and relatively larger at high latitudes. Large ULA for the polar regions is strongly related to the cases where the CALIOP level 2 product reports zero AOD. This study provides an estimate of the complement of AOD that is not detected by lidar and bounds the CALIOP AOD uncertainty to provide corrections for science studies that employ the CALIOP level 2 AOD.
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evaluation of the aerosol vertical distribution in global aerosol models through comparison against CALIOP measurements aerocom phase ii results
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2016Co-Authors: Brigitte Koffi, David M. Winker, Michael Schulz, Francoismarie Breon, Jan Griesfeller, Y Balkanski, Susanne E Bauer, Frank Dentener, Birthe Marie SteensenAbstract:The ability of 11 models in simulating the aerosol vertical distribution from regional to global scales, as part of the second phase of the AeroCom model intercomparison initiative (AeroCom II), is assessed and compared to results of the first phase. The evaluation is performed using a global monthly gridded data set of aerosol extinction profiles built for this purpose from the CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) Layer Product 3.01. Results over 12 subcontinental regions show that five models improved, whereas three degraded in reproducing the interregional variability in Zα0–6 km, the mean extinction height diagnostic, as computed from the CALIOP aerosol profiles over the 0–6 km altitude range for each studied region and season. While the models' performance remains highly variable, the simulation of the timing of the Zα0–6 km peak season has also improved for all but two models from AeroCom Phase I to Phase II. The biases in Zα0–6 km are smaller in all regions except Central Atlantic, East Asia, and North and South Africa. Most of the models now underestimate Zα0–6 km over land, notably in the dust and biomass burning regions in Asia and Africa. At global scale, the AeroCom II models better reproduce the Zα0–6 km latitudinal variability over ocean than over land. Hypotheses for the performance and evolution of the individual models and for the intermodel diversity are discussed. We also provide an analysis of the CALIOP limitations and uncertainties contributing to the differences between the simulations and observations.
Jacques Pelon - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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CALIOP V4 cloud thermodynamic phase assignment and the impact of near-nadir viewing angles
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2020Co-Authors: Melody A. Avery, Mark A Vaughan, David M. Winker, Jacques Pelon, Anne Garnier, Robert A. Ryan, Brian J. Getzewich, Carolus C. VerhappenAbstract:Accurate determination of thermodynamic cloud phase is critical for establishing the radiative impact of clouds on climate and weather. Depolarization of the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) 532 nm signal provides an independent piece of information for determining cloud phase, a critical addition to other methods of thermodynamic phase discrimination that rely on temperature, cloud top altitude or a temperature-based cloud phase climatology. The CALIOP phase algorithm primarily uses layer-integrated depolarization and attenuated backscatter to determine the dominant thermodynamic phase of hydrometeors present in a vertical cloud layer segment, at horizontal resolutions varying between 333 m and 80 km. Ice cloud backscatter observations taken with a 0.3° near-nadir view include a significant amount of specular reflection from hexagonal smooth crystal faces that are oriented perpendicularly to the incident lidar beam. These specular reflections are often caused by horizontally oriented ice crystals (HOI), and are shown to occur between 0 and −40° C, with a peak in the distribution globally at −15° C. To avoid these reflections, the viewing angle was changed from 0.3 to 3° in November 2007. Since then the instrument has been observing clouds almost continuously for almost 12 more years. Recent viewing angle testing occurring during 2017 at 1, 1.5 and 2° quantifies the impact of changing the viewing angle to CALIOP global observations of attenuated backscatter and depolarization. These CALIOP results verify earlier observations by POLDER, showing that at the peak of the HOI distribution the mean backscatter from ice clouds decreases by 50 % and depolarization increases by a factor of 5 as the viewing angle increases from 0.3 to 3°. This has provided more data for a thorough evaluation of phase determination at the 3° viewing angle and suggested changes to the CALIOP cloud phase algorithm for Version 4 (V4). Combined with extensive calibration changes that impact the 532 nm and 1064 nm backscatter observations, V4 represents the first major Level 2 phase algorithm adjustment since 2009. For V4 the algorithm has been simplified to exclude over-identification of HOI at 3°, particularly in cold clouds. The V4 algorithm also considers temperature at the 532 nm cloud layer centroid, as opposed to cloud top or mid-cloud temperature as a secondary means of determining cloud phase and has been streamlined for more consistent identification of water and ice clouds. In this paper we summarize the major Version 3 (V3) to V4 cloud phase algorithm changes. We also characterize the impacts of applying the V4 phase algorithm globally and describe changes that can be expected when comparing V4 with V3. In V4 there are more cloud layers detected in V4, with edges that may extend further than in V3, for a combined increase in total atmospheric cloud volume of 6–9 % for high confidence cloud phases and 1–2 % for all cloudy bins. Some cloud layer boundaries have changed because 532 nm layer-integrated attenuated backscatter in V4 has increased due to improved calibration and extended layer boundaries, while the corresponding depolarization has stayed about the same. Collocated CALIPSO Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) observations of ice and water cloud particle microphysical indices complement the CALIOP ice and water cloud phase determinations.
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Identification of Aerosol Sources in Siberia and Study of Aerosol Transport at Regional Scale by Airborne and Space-Borne Lidar Measurement
EPJ Web of Conferences, 2020Co-Authors: Antonin Zabukovec, Jacques Pelon, Gérard Ancellet, Iogannes Penner, Grigorii Kokhanenko, Yuri BalinAbstract:Airborne lidar measurements were carried out over Siberia in July 2013 and June 2017. Aerosol optical properties are derived using the Lagrangian FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model (FLEXPART) simulations and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) AOD. Comparison with Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aerosol products is used to validate the CALIOP aerosol type identification above Siberia. Two case studies are discussed: a mixture of dust and pollution from Northern Kazakhstan and smoke plumes from forest fires. Comparisons with the CALIOP backscatter ratio show that CALIOP algorithm may overestimate the LR for a dusty mixture if not constrained by an independent AOD measurement.
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calipso lidar calibration at 1064 nm version 4 algorithm
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2019Co-Authors: Mark A Vaughan, William H. Hunt, Jacques Pelon, Zhaoyan Liu, Kam-pui Lee, Anne Garnier, Damien Josset, S P Burton, Melody A. Avery, Johnathan W HairAbstract:Abstract. Radiometric calibration of space-based elastic backscatter lidars is accomplished by comparing the measured backscatter signals to theoretically expected signals computed for some well-characterized calibration target. For any given system and wavelength, the choice of calibration target is dictated by several considerations, including signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and target availability. This paper describes the newly implemented procedures used to calibrate the 1064 nm measurements acquired by CALIOP (i.e., the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization), the two-wavelength (532 and 1064 nm) elastic backscatter lidar currently flying on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission. CALIOP's 532 nm channel is accurately calibrated by normalizing the molecular backscatter from the uppermost aerosol-free altitudes of the CALIOP measurement region to molecular model data obtained from NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office. However, because CALIOP's SNR for molecular backscatter measurements is prohibitively lower at 1064 nm than at 532 nm, the direct high-altitude molecular normalization method is not a viable option at 1064 nm. Instead, CALIOP's 1064 nm channel is calibrated relative to the 532 nm channel using the backscatter from a carefully selected subset of cirrus cloud measurements. In this paper we deliver a full account of the revised 1064 nm calibration algorithms implemented for the version 4.1 (V4) release of the CALIPSO lidar data products, with particular emphases on the physical basis for the selection of “calibration quality” cirrus clouds and on the new averaging scheme required to characterize intra-orbit calibration variability. The V4 procedures introduce latitudinally varying changes in the 1064 nm calibration coefficients of 25 % or more, relative to previous data releases, and are shown to substantially improve the accuracy of the V4 1064 nm attenuated backscatter coefficients. By evaluating calibration coefficients derived using both water clouds and ocean surfaces as alternate calibration targets, and through comparisons to independent, collocated measurements made by airborne high spectral resolution lidar, we conclude that the CALIOP V4 1064 nm calibration coefficients are accurate to within 3 %.
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lidar multiple scattering factors inferred from calipso lidar and iir retrievals of semi transparent cirrus cloud optical depths over oceans
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2015Co-Authors: Anne Garnier, Mark A Vaughan, Charles R. Trepte, D. M. Winker, Jacques Pelon, Philippe DubuissonAbstract:Abstract. Cirrus cloud absorption optical depths retrieved at 12.05 μm are compared to extinction optical depths retrieved at 0.532 μm from perfectly co-located observations of single-layered semi-transparent cirrus over ocean made by the Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) and the Cloud and Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) flying on board the CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) satellite. IIR infrared absorption optical depths are compared to CALIOP visible extinction optical depths when the latter can be directly derived from the measured apparent two-way transmittance through the cloud. An evaluation of the CALIOP multiple scattering factor is inferred from these comparisons after assessing and correcting biases in IIR and CALIOP optical depths reported in version 3 data products. In particular, the blackbody radiance taken in the IIR version 3 algorithm is evaluated, and IIR retrievals are corrected accordingly. Numerical simulations and IIR retrievals of ice crystal sizes suggest that the ratios of CALIOP extinction and IIR absorption optical depths should remain roughly constant with respect to temperature. Instead, these ratios are found to increase quasi-linearly by about 40 % as the temperature at the layer centroid altitude decreases from 240 to 200 K. It is discussed that this behavior can be explained by variations of the multiple scattering factor ηT applied to correct the measured apparent two-way transmittance for contribution of forward-scattering. While the CALIOP version 3 retrievals hold ηT fixed at 0.6, this study shows that ηT varies with temperature (and hence cloud particle size) from ηT = 0.8 at 200 K to ηT = 0.5 at 240 K for single-layered semi-transparent cirrus clouds with optical depth larger than 0.3. The revised parameterization of ηT introduces a concomitant temperature dependence in the simultaneously derived CALIOP lidar ratios that is consistent with observed changes in CALIOP depolarization ratios and particle habits derived from IIR measurements.
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Evaluation against CALIPSO lidar observations of the multi-geostationary cloud cover and type dataset assembled in the framework of the Megha-Tropiques mission
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 2015Co-Authors: Geneviève Sèze, Jacques Pelon, Marcel Derrien, Hervé Le Gléau, Bruno SixAbstract:To support the MEGHA-Tropiques space mission, cloud mask and cloud type classification are needed at high spatial and time resolutions over the tropical belt for water vapour and precipitation analysis. For this purpose, visible and infrared radiance data from geostationary satellites (GEO) are used with a single algorithm initially developed by SAFNWC (Satellite-Application-Facility-for-Nowcasting) for Meteosat-Second-Generation. This algorithm has been adapted by SAFNWC to the spectral characteristics and field of view of each satellite. Retrieved cloud cover characteristics (cloud mask, classification and top pressure) are evaluated over four months in summer of 2009 against CALIOP lidar observations from the CALIPSO polar-orbiting satellite. To better identify atmospheric and instrumental issues, separate analyses are performed over land and ocean, for 0130 AM and 0130 PM CALIPSO overpasses and for each GEO. Both mean cloud cover occurrence and instantaneous cloud cover statistics are compared. We found that each classification has specific features, which depend on observed cloud regimes and instrument capabilities. Most important, a common behaviour of the GEOs against CALIOP depending on cloud types is observed. We found that GEO cloud occurrence is lower by about 10% than CALIOP, with the largest biases over land during daytime and the smallest over ocean during daytime. Further detailed analysis reveals specific discrepancies in the retrieved cloud types. As expected, high-level clouds are detected more frequently by the lidar. We show that, over ocean when the optical thickness of detected high-level clouds is limited to greater than 0.1 in the comparisons, multi-spectral radiometry performs very similarly. However, the most significant difference is attributed to non-detection of low-level clouds that are often broken, which causes a reduction of up to 20% in low-level cloud fraction and even 30% in some regions. Other significant differences are seen over land, where mid-level clouds are not detected or are misclassified.
Charles R. Trepte - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Global Ocean Studies from CALIOP/CALIPSO by Removing Polarization Crosstalk Effects
'MDPI AG', 2021Co-Authors: Ali Omar, Jayanta Kar, Rosemary Baize, Mark Vaughan, Sharon Rodier, Brian Getzewich, Patricia Lucker, Charles R. TrepteAbstract:Recent studies indicate that the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aboard the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite provides valuable information about ocean phytoplankton distributions. CALIOP’s attenuated backscatter coefficients, measured at 532 nm in receiver channels oriented parallel and perpendicular to the laser’s linear polarization plane, are significantly improved in the Version 4 data product. However, due to non-ideal instrument effects, a small fraction of the backscattered optical power polarized parallel to the receiver polarization reference plane is misdirected into the perpendicular channel, and vice versa. This effect, known as polarization crosstalk, typically causes the measured perpendicular signal to be higher than its true value and the measured parallel signal to be lower than its true value. Therefore, the ocean optical properties derived directly from CALIOP’s measured signals will be biased if the polarization crosstalk effect is not taken into account. This paper presents methods that can be used to estimate the CALIOP crosstalk effects from on-orbit measurements. The global ocean depolarization ratios calculated both before and after removing the crosstalk effects are compared. Using CALIOP crosstalk-corrected signals is highly recommended for all ocean subsurface studies
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the calipso version 4 automated aerosol classification and lidar ratio selection algorithm
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2018Co-Authors: Manhae Kim, Ali Omar, Mark A Vaughan, Charles R. Trepte, David M. Winker, Zhaoyan Liu, Jason L Tackett, Lamont R Poole, Michael C Pitts, Jayanta KarAbstract:Abstract. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) version 4.10 (V4) level 2 aerosol data products, released in November 2016, include substantial improvements to the aerosol subtyping and lidar ratio selection algorithms. These improvements are described along with resulting changes in aerosol optical depth (AOD). The most fundamental change in the V4 level 2 aerosol products is a new algorithm to identify aerosol subtypes in the stratosphere. Four aerosol subtypes are introduced for stratospheric aerosols: polar stratospheric aerosol (PSA), volcanic ash, sulfate/other, and smoke. The tropospheric aerosol subtyping algorithm was also improved by adding the following enhancements: (1) all aerosol subtypes are now allowed over polar regions, whereas the version 3 (V3) algorithm allowed only clean continental and polluted continental aerosols; (2) a new “dusty marine” aerosol subtype is introduced, representing mixtures of dust and marine aerosols near the ocean surface; and (3) the “polluted continental” and “smoke” subtypes have been renamed “polluted continental/smoke” and “elevated smoke”, respectively. V4 also revises the lidar ratios for clean marine, dust, clean continental, and elevated smoke subtypes. As a consequence of the V4 updates, the mean 532 nm AOD retrieved by CALIOP has increased by 0.044 (0.036) or 52 % (40 %) for nighttime (daytime). Lidar ratio revisions are the most influential factor for AOD changes from V3 to V4, especially for cloud-free skies. Preliminary validation studies show that the AOD discrepancies between CALIOP and AERONET–MODIS (ocean) are reduced in V4 compared to V3.
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quantifying the low bias of calipso s column aerosol optical depth due to undetected aerosol layers
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2017Co-Authors: Ali Omar, Mark A Vaughan, Charles R. Trepte, David M. Winker, Zhaoyan Liu, Manhae Kim, Sang Woo KimAbstract:The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) data processing scheme only retrieves extinction profiles in those portions of the return signal where cloud or aerosol layers have been identified by the CALIOP layer detection scheme. In this study we use 2 years of CALIOP and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to quantify the aerosol optical depth of undetected weakly backscattering layers. Aerosol extinction and column-averaged lidar ratio is retrieved from CALIOP level 1B (version 4) profile using MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) as a constraint over oceans from March 2013 to February 2015. To quantify the undetected layer AOD (ULA), an unconstrained retrieval is applied globally using a lidar ratio of 28.75 sr estimated from constrained retrievals during the daytime over the ocean. We find a global mean ULA of 0.031 ± 0.052. There is no significant difference in ULA between land and ocean. However, the fraction of undetected aerosol layers rises considerably during daytime, when the large amount of solar background noise lowers the signal-to-noise ratio. For this reason, there is a difference in ULA between day (0.036 ± 0.066) and night (0.025 ± 0.021). ULA is larger in the northern hemisphere and relatively larger at high latitudes. Large ULA for the polar regions is strongly related to the cases where the CALIOP level 2 product reports zero AOD. This study provides an estimate of the complement of AOD that is not detected by lidar and bounds the CALIOP AOD uncertainty to provide corrections for science studies that employ the CALIOP level 2 AOD.
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lidar multiple scattering factors inferred from calipso lidar and iir retrievals of semi transparent cirrus cloud optical depths over oceans
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2015Co-Authors: Anne Garnier, Mark A Vaughan, Charles R. Trepte, D. M. Winker, Jacques Pelon, Philippe DubuissonAbstract:Abstract. Cirrus cloud absorption optical depths retrieved at 12.05 μm are compared to extinction optical depths retrieved at 0.532 μm from perfectly co-located observations of single-layered semi-transparent cirrus over ocean made by the Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) and the Cloud and Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) flying on board the CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) satellite. IIR infrared absorption optical depths are compared to CALIOP visible extinction optical depths when the latter can be directly derived from the measured apparent two-way transmittance through the cloud. An evaluation of the CALIOP multiple scattering factor is inferred from these comparisons after assessing and correcting biases in IIR and CALIOP optical depths reported in version 3 data products. In particular, the blackbody radiance taken in the IIR version 3 algorithm is evaluated, and IIR retrievals are corrected accordingly. Numerical simulations and IIR retrievals of ice crystal sizes suggest that the ratios of CALIOP extinction and IIR absorption optical depths should remain roughly constant with respect to temperature. Instead, these ratios are found to increase quasi-linearly by about 40 % as the temperature at the layer centroid altitude decreases from 240 to 200 K. It is discussed that this behavior can be explained by variations of the multiple scattering factor ηT applied to correct the measured apparent two-way transmittance for contribution of forward-scattering. While the CALIOP version 3 retrievals hold ηT fixed at 0.6, this study shows that ηT varies with temperature (and hence cloud particle size) from ηT = 0.8 at 200 K to ηT = 0.5 at 240 K for single-layered semi-transparent cirrus clouds with optical depth larger than 0.3. The revised parameterization of ηT introduces a concomitant temperature dependence in the simultaneously derived CALIOP lidar ratios that is consistent with observed changes in CALIOP depolarization ratios and particle habits derived from IIR measurements.
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evaluation of CALIOP 532 nm aerosol optical depth over opaque water clouds
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2015Co-Authors: Z. Liu, Ali Omar, Mark A Vaughan, Charles R. Trepte, D. M. Winker, Jayanta Kar, Gregory L SchusterAbstract:Abstract. With its height-resolved measurements and near global coverage, the CALIOP lidar onboard the CALIPSO satellite offers a new capability for aerosol retrievals in cloudy skies. Validation of these retrievals is difficult, however, as independent, collocated and co-temporal data sets are generally not available. In this paper, we evaluate CALIOP aerosol products above opaque water clouds by applying multiple retrieval techniques to CALIOP Level 1 profile data and comparing the results. This approach allows us to both characterize the accuracy of the CALIOP above-cloud aerosol optical depth (AOD) and develop an error budget that quantifies the relative contributions of different error sources. We focus on two spatial domains: the African dust transport pathway over the tropical North Atlantic and the African smoke transport pathway over the southeastern Atlantic. Six years of CALIOP observations (2007–2012) from the northern hemisphere summer and early fall are analyzed. The analysis is limited to cases where aerosol layers are located above opaque water clouds so that a constrained retrieval technique can be used to directly retrieve 532 nm aerosol optical depth and lidar ratio. For the moderately dense Sahara dust layers detected in the CALIOP data used in this study, the mean/median values of the lidar ratios derived from a constrained opaque water cloud (OWC) technique are 45.1/44.4 ± 8.8 sr, which are somewhat larger than the value of 40 ± 20 sr used in the CALIOP Level 2 (L2) data products. Comparisons of CALIOP L2 AOD with the OWC-retrieved AOD reveal that for nighttime conditions the L2 AOD in the dust region is underestimated on average by ~26% (0.183 vs. 0.247). Examination of the error sources indicates that errors in the L2 dust AOD are primarily due to using a lidar ratio that is somewhat too small. The mean/median lidar ratio retrieved for smoke is 70.8/70.4 ± 16.2 sr, which is consistent with the modeled value of 70 ± 28 sr used in the CALIOP L2 retrieval. Smoke AOD is found to be underestimated, on average, by ~39% (0.191 vs. 0.311). The primary cause of AOD differences in the smoke transport region is the tendency of the CALIOP layer detection scheme to prematurely assign layer base altitudes and thus underestimate the geometric thickness of smoke layers.
