Articles | Volume 16, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-419-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-419-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
26 Jan 2023
Research article |
| 26 Jan 2023
| 26 Jan 2023
A study of optical scattering modelling for mixed-phase polar stratospheric clouds
Istituto di Scienze dell’Atmosfera e del Clima, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy
Terry Deshler
Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
Luca Di Liberto
Istituto di Scienze dell’Atmosfera e del Clima, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy
Andrea Scoccione
Centro Operativo per la Meteorologia, Aeronautica Militare, Pomezia, Italy
Marcel Snels
Istituto di Scienze dell’Atmosfera e del Clima, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy
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Francesco Cairo, Martina Krämer, Armin Afchine, Guido Di Donfrancesco, Luca Di Liberto, Sergey Khaykin, Lorenza Lucaferri, Valentin Mitev, Max Port, Christian Rolf, Marcel Snels, Nicole Spelten, Ralf Weigel, and Stephan Borrmann
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Cirrus clouds have been observed over the Himalayan region between 10 km and the tropopause at 17–18 km. Data from backscattersonde, hygrometers, and particle cloud spectrometers have been compared to assess their consistency. Empirical relationships between optical parameters accessible with remote sensing lidars and cloud microphysical parameters (such as ice water content, particle number and surface area density, and particle aspherical fraction) have been established.
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In situ measurements of water vapor in the upper troposphere are necessary to study cloud formation and hydration of the stratosphere but challenging due to cold–dry conditions. We compare measurements from three water vapor instruments from the StratoClim campaign in 2017. In clear sky (clouds), point-by-point differences were <1.5±8 % (<1±8 %). This excellent agreement allows detection of fine-scale structures required to understand the impact of convection on stratospheric water vapor.
Sergey M. Khaykin, Elizabeth Moyer, Martina Krämer, Benjamin Clouser, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Alexey Lykov, Armin Afchine, Francesco Cairo, Ivan Formanyuk, Valentin Mitev, Renaud Matthey, Christian Rolf, Clare E. Singer, Nicole Spelten, Vasiliy Volkov, Vladimir Yushkov, and Fred Stroh
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The Asian monsoon anticyclone is the key contributor to the global annual maximum in lower stratospheric water vapour. We investigate the impact of deep convection on the lower stratospheric water using a unique set of observations aboard the high-altitude M55-Geophysica aircraft deployed in Nepal in summer 2017 within the EU StratoClim project. We find that convective plumes of wet air can persist within the Asian anticyclone for weeks, thereby enhancing the occurrence of high-level clouds.
Francesco Cairo, Terry Deshler, Luca Di Liberto, Andrea Scoccione, and Marcel Snels
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-28, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-28, 2022
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We study Mie theory on aspherical scatterers, computing on coincident measurements of PSC by lidar and Particle Counters, the backscatter and depolarization of mixed phase PSC. WParticles are assumed solid if larger than R; for these, Mie results are reduced by C < 1 and only a common fraction X < 1 of the backscattering is polarized. We retrieve R, C and X. The match of model and measurement is good for backscattering, poor for depolarization. The hypothesis on X may be not fulfilled.
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15259–15282, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15259-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15259-2021, 2021
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In 2017, in situ aerosol measurements were conducted aboard the M55 Geophysica in the Asian monsoon region. The vertical particle mixing ratio profiles show a distinct layer (15–18.5 km), the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL). The backscatter ratio (BR) was calculated based on the aerosol size distributions and compared with the BRs detected by a backscatter probe and a lidar aboard M55, and by the CALIOP lidar. All four methods show enhanced BRs in the ATAL altitude range (max. at 17.5 km).
Francesco Cairo, Mauro De Muro, Marcel Snels, Luca Di Liberto, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Ajil Kottayil, Andrea Scoccione, and Stefano Ghisu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7947–7961, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7947-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7947-2021, 2021
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A lidar was used in Palau from February–March 2016. Clouds were observed peaking at 3 km below the high cold-point tropopause (CPT). Their occurrence was linked with cold anomalies, while in warm cases, cirrus clouds were restricted to 5 km below the CPT. Thin subvisible cirrus (SVC) near the CPT had distinctive characteristics. They were linked to wave-induced cold anomalies. Back trajectories are mostly compatible with convective outflow, while some distinctive SVC may originate in situ.
Marcel Snels, Francesco Colao, Francesco Cairo, Ilir Shuli, Andrea Scoccione, Mauro De Muro, Michael Pitts, Lamont Poole, and Luca Di Liberto
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2165–2178, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2165-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2165-2021, 2021
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A total of 5 years of polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) observations by ground-based lidar at Concordia station (Antarctica) are presented. These data have been recorded in coincidence with the overpasses of the CALIOP lidar on the CALIPSO satellite. First we demonstrate that both lidars observe essentially the same thing, in terms of detection and composition of the PSCs. Then we use both datasets to study seasonal and interannual variations in the formation temperature of NAT mixtures.
Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Pasquale Sellitto, Francesco D'Amato, Silvia Viciani, Alessio Montori, Antonio Chiarugi, Fabrizio Ravegnani, Alexey Ulanovsky, Francesco Cairo, and Fred Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12193–12210, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12193-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12193-2020, 2020
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The paper presents and evaluates a transport analysis method to study the convective injection of air in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere of the Asian monsoon anticyclone region. The approach is thereby used to analyse the trace gas data collected during the StratoClim aircraft campaign. The results showed that fresh convective air can be injected fast at a high level of the atmosphere (above 17 km), with potential impacts on the stratospheric chemistry of the Northern Hemisphere.
Marcel Snels, Andrea Scoccione, Luca Di Liberto, Francesco Colao, Michael Pitts, Lamont Poole, Terry Deshler, Francesco Cairo, Chiara Cagnazzo, and Federico Fierli
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Polar stratospheric clouds are important for stratospheric chemistry and ozone depletion. Here we statistically compare ground-based and satellite-borne lidar measurements at McMurdo (Antarctica) in order to better understand the differences between ground-based and satellite-borne observations. The satellite observations have also been compared to models used in CCMVAL-2 and CCMI studies, with the goal of testing different diagnostic methods for comparing observations with model outputs.
Silvia Bucci, Paolo Cristofanelli, Stefano Decesari, Angela Marinoni, Silvia Sandrini, Johannes Größ, Alfred Wiedensohler, Chiara F. Di Marco, Eiko Nemitz, Francesco Cairo, Luca Di Liberto, and Federico Fierli
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Our goal is to contribute to the most recent discussion of the relative role of PSC and liquid (background) aerosol in the ozone depletion.
W. Frey, S. Borrmann, F. Fierli, R. Weigel, V. Mitev, R. Matthey, F. Ravegnani, N. M. Sitnikov, A. Ulanovsky, and F. Cairo
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Simone Tilmes, Michael J. Mills, Yunqian Zhu, Charles G. Bardeen, Francis Vitt, Pengfei Yu, David Fillmore, Xiaohong Liu, Brian Toon, and Terry Deshler
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We implemented an alternative aerosol scheme in the high- and low-top model versions of the Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2) with a more detailed description of tropospheric and stratospheric aerosol size distributions than the existing aerosol model. This development enables the comparison of different aerosol schemes with different complexity in the same model framework. It identifies improvements compared to a range of observations in both the troposphere and stratosphere.
Francesco Cairo, Martina Krämer, Armin Afchine, Guido Di Donfrancesco, Luca Di Liberto, Sergey Khaykin, Lorenza Lucaferri, Valentin Mitev, Max Port, Christian Rolf, Marcel Snels, Nicole Spelten, Ralf Weigel, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4899–4925, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4899-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4899-2023, 2023
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Cirrus clouds have been observed over the Himalayan region between 10 km and the tropopause at 17–18 km. Data from backscattersonde, hygrometers, and particle cloud spectrometers have been compared to assess their consistency. Empirical relationships between optical parameters accessible with remote sensing lidars and cloud microphysical parameters (such as ice water content, particle number and surface area density, and particle aspherical fraction) have been established.
Christine Pohl, Felix Wrana, Alexei Rozanov, Terry Deshler, Elizaveta Malinina, Christian von Savigny, Landon A. Rieger, Adam E. Bourassa, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-156, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-156, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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The knowledge of stratospheric aerosol characteristics is important to understand the chemical and climate aerosol feedbacks. Two particle size distribution parameters, the aerosol extinction coefficient, and the effective radius are retrieved from SCIAMACHY limb observations. The aerosol characteristics show good agreement with independent data sets from balloon-borne and satellite observations. This data set expands the limited knowledge of stratospheric aerosol characteristics.
J. Douglas Goetz, Lars E. Kalnajs, Terry Deshler, Sean M. Davis, Martina Bramberger, and M. Joan Alexander
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 791–807, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-791-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-791-2023, 2023
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An instrument for in situ continuous 2 km vertical profiles of temperature below high-altitude balloons was developed for high-temporal-resolution measurements within the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere using fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing. The mechanical, electrical, and temperature calibration systems were validated from a short mid-latitude constant-altitude balloon flight within the lower stratosphere. The instrument observed small-scale and inertial gravity waves.
Juan-Carlos Antuña-Marrero, Graham W. Mann, John Barnes, Abel Calle, Sandip S. Dhomse, Victoria E. Cachorro-Revilla, Terry Deshler, Li Zhengyao, Nimmi Sharma, and Louis Elterman
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-272, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-272, 2022
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Tropospheric and stratospheric aerosol extinction profiles observations from a searchlight at New Mexico, US, were rescued and re-calibrated. Spanning between December 1963 and 1964, they measured the volcanic aerosols from the 1963 Agung eruption. Contemporary and state of the art information were used in the re-calibration. A unique and until the present forgotten/ignored dataset, it contributes current observational and modelling research on the impact of major volcanic eruptions on climate.
Clare E. Singer, Benjamin W. Clouser, Sergey M. Khaykin, Martina Krämer, Francesco Cairo, Thomas Peter, Alexey Lykov, Christian Rolf, Nicole Spelten, Armin Afchine, Simone Brunamonti, and Elisabeth J. Moyer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4767–4783, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4767-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4767-2022, 2022
Short summary
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In situ measurements of water vapor in the upper troposphere are necessary to study cloud formation and hydration of the stratosphere but challenging due to cold–dry conditions. We compare measurements from three water vapor instruments from the StratoClim campaign in 2017. In clear sky (clouds), point-by-point differences were <1.5±8 % (<1±8 %). This excellent agreement allows detection of fine-scale structures required to understand the impact of convection on stratospheric water vapor.
Sergey M. Khaykin, Elizabeth Moyer, Martina Krämer, Benjamin Clouser, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Alexey Lykov, Armin Afchine, Francesco Cairo, Ivan Formanyuk, Valentin Mitev, Renaud Matthey, Christian Rolf, Clare E. Singer, Nicole Spelten, Vasiliy Volkov, Vladimir Yushkov, and Fred Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3169–3189, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3169-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3169-2022, 2022
Short summary
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The Asian monsoon anticyclone is the key contributor to the global annual maximum in lower stratospheric water vapour. We investigate the impact of deep convection on the lower stratospheric water using a unique set of observations aboard the high-altitude M55-Geophysica aircraft deployed in Nepal in summer 2017 within the EU StratoClim project. We find that convective plumes of wet air can persist within the Asian anticyclone for weeks, thereby enhancing the occurrence of high-level clouds.
Francesco Cairo, Terry Deshler, Luca Di Liberto, Andrea Scoccione, and Marcel Snels
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-28, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-28, 2022
Publication in AMT not foreseen
Short summary
Short summary
We study Mie theory on aspherical scatterers, computing on coincident measurements of PSC by lidar and Particle Counters, the backscatter and depolarization of mixed phase PSC. WParticles are assumed solid if larger than R; for these, Mie results are reduced by C < 1 and only a common fraction X < 1 of the backscattering is polarized. We retrieve R, C and X. The match of model and measurement is good for backscattering, poor for depolarization. The hypothesis on X may be not fulfilled.
Marcel Snels, Stefania Stefani, Angelo Boccaccini, David Biondi, and Giuseppe Piccioni
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7187–7197, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7187-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7187-2021, 2021
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A novel simulation chamber, PASSxS (Planetary Atmosphere Simulation System for Spectroscopy), has been developed for absorption measurements with a Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) and possibly a cavity ring-down (CRD) spectrometer, with a sample temperature ranging from 100 K up to 550 K, while the pressure of the gas can be varied up to 60 bar. These temperature and pressure ranges cover a significant part of the planetary atmospheres in the solar system and possibly extrasolar planets.
Christoph Mahnke, Ralf Weigel, Francesco Cairo, Jean-Paul Vernier, Armin Afchine, Martina Krämer, Valentin Mitev, Renaud Matthey, Silvia Viciani, Francesco D'Amato, Felix Ploeger, Terry Deshler, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15259–15282, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15259-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15259-2021, 2021
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In 2017, in situ aerosol measurements were conducted aboard the M55 Geophysica in the Asian monsoon region. The vertical particle mixing ratio profiles show a distinct layer (15–18.5 km), the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL). The backscatter ratio (BR) was calculated based on the aerosol size distributions and compared with the BRs detected by a backscatter probe and a lidar aboard M55, and by the CALIOP lidar. All four methods show enhanced BRs in the ATAL altitude range (max. at 17.5 km).
Francesco Cairo, Mauro De Muro, Marcel Snels, Luca Di Liberto, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Ajil Kottayil, Andrea Scoccione, and Stefano Ghisu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7947–7961, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7947-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7947-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A lidar was used in Palau from February–March 2016. Clouds were observed peaking at 3 km below the high cold-point tropopause (CPT). Their occurrence was linked with cold anomalies, while in warm cases, cirrus clouds were restricted to 5 km below the CPT. Thin subvisible cirrus (SVC) near the CPT had distinctive characteristics. They were linked to wave-induced cold anomalies. Back trajectories are mostly compatible with convective outflow, while some distinctive SVC may originate in situ.
Lars E. Kalnajs, Sean M. Davis, J. Douglas Goetz, Terry Deshler, Sergey Khaykin, Alex St. Clair, Albert Hertzog, Jerome Bordereau, and Alexey Lykov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2635–2648, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2635-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2635-2021, 2021
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This work introduces a novel instrument system for high-resolution atmospheric profiling, which lowers and retracts a suspended instrument package beneath drifting long-duration balloons. During a 100 d circumtropical flight, the instrument collected over a hundred 2 km profiles of temperature, water vapor, clouds, and aerosol at 1 m resolution, yielding unprecedented geographic sampling and vertical resolution measurements of the tropical tropopause layer.
Marcel Snels, Francesco Colao, Francesco Cairo, Ilir Shuli, Andrea Scoccione, Mauro De Muro, Michael Pitts, Lamont Poole, and Luca Di Liberto
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2165–2178, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2165-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2165-2021, 2021
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A total of 5 years of polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) observations by ground-based lidar at Concordia station (Antarctica) are presented. These data have been recorded in coincidence with the overpasses of the CALIOP lidar on the CALIPSO satellite. First we demonstrate that both lidars observe essentially the same thing, in terms of detection and composition of the PSCs. Then we use both datasets to study seasonal and interannual variations in the formation temperature of NAT mixtures.
Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Pasquale Sellitto, Francesco D'Amato, Silvia Viciani, Alessio Montori, Antonio Chiarugi, Fabrizio Ravegnani, Alexey Ulanovsky, Francesco Cairo, and Fred Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12193–12210, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12193-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12193-2020, 2020
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The paper presents and evaluates a transport analysis method to study the convective injection of air in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere of the Asian monsoon anticyclone region. The approach is thereby used to analyse the trace gas data collected during the StratoClim aircraft campaign. The results showed that fresh convective air can be injected fast at a high level of the atmosphere (above 17 km), with potential impacts on the stratospheric chemistry of the Northern Hemisphere.
Ernest Nyaku, Robert Loughman, Pawan K. Bhartia, Terry Deshler, Zhong Chen, and Peter R. Colarco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1071–1087, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1071-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1071-2020, 2020
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This paper shows the importance of the nature of the aerosol phase function used in the retrieval of the stratospheric aerosol extinction from limb scattering measurements. The aerosol phase function is derived from the parameters using either a unimodal lognormal or gamma aerosol size distribution. These two distributions were fitted to the same aerosol concentration measurements at two altitudes, and depending on the nature of the measurements, each distribution shows its strengths.
Dario Stelitano, Paolo Di Girolamo, Andrea Scoccione, Donato Summa, and Marco Cacciani
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2183–2199, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2183-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2183-2019, 2019
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Vertical profiles of the particle backscattering coefficient at 355, 532 and 1064 nm measured by the Raman lidar system BASIL are compared with simulated particle backscatter profiles obtained through the application of a Mie scattering code and the use of simultaneous and co-located measurements by an optical particle counter on board the French research aircraft ATR42 operated by SAFIRE in the framework of the Hydrological Cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment – Special Observation Period 1.
Marcel Snels, Andrea Scoccione, Luca Di Liberto, Francesco Colao, Michael Pitts, Lamont Poole, Terry Deshler, Francesco Cairo, Chiara Cagnazzo, and Federico Fierli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 955–972, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-955-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-955-2019, 2019
Short summary
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Polar stratospheric clouds are important for stratospheric chemistry and ozone depletion. Here we statistically compare ground-based and satellite-borne lidar measurements at McMurdo (Antarctica) in order to better understand the differences between ground-based and satellite-borne observations. The satellite observations have also been compared to models used in CCMVAL-2 and CCMI studies, with the goal of testing different diagnostic methods for comparing observations with model outputs.
Davide Dionisi, Francesca Barnaba, Henri Diémoz, Luca Di Liberto, and Gian Paolo Gobbi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6013–6042, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6013-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6013-2018, 2018
Michael Höpfner, Terry Deshler, Michael Pitts, Lamont Poole, Reinhold Spang, Gabriele Stiller, and Thomas von Clarmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5901–5923, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5901-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5901-2018, 2018
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Polar stratospheric clouds (PSC) have major relevance to the processes leading to polar ozone depletion. A good understanding of these particles is a prerequisite to predict their role in a changing climate. We present the first global set of PSC volume density profiles derived from the MIPAS satellite measurements covering the entire mission period between 2002 and 2012. A comparison to CALIOP lidar measurements is provided. The dataset can serve as a basis for evaluation of atmospheric models.
Silvia Bucci, Paolo Cristofanelli, Stefano Decesari, Angela Marinoni, Silvia Sandrini, Johannes Größ, Alfred Wiedensohler, Chiara F. Di Marco, Eiko Nemitz, Francesco Cairo, Luca Di Liberto, and Federico Fierli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5371–5389, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5371-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5371-2018, 2018
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This paper analyses some of the processes affecting PM levels over the Po Valley, one of the most polluted regions of Europe, during the 2012 summer campaigns. Under conditions of air transport from the Sahara, data show that desert dust can rapidly penetrate into the lower atmosphere, directly affecting the PM concentration at the ground. Processes of particles growth in high relative humidity and uplift of local soil particles, potentially affecting PM level, are also analysed.
Paolo Di Girolamo, Andrea Scoccione, Marco Cacciani, Donato Summa, Benedetto De Rosa, and Jan H. Schween
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4885–4896, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4885-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4885-2018, 2018
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The paper illustrates what we believe are the first measurements of a phenomenon taking place in upper portion of the convective boundary layer in clear-air conditions leading to the appearance of a persistent minimum in lidar backscatter echoes, with alternating intensifications and attenuations. The paper gives experimental evidence of the phenomenon and provides possible interpretations for its occurrence referring to both hygroscopic and scattering properties of sounded aerosol particles.
Annika Günther, Michael Höpfner, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Sabine Griessbach, Terry Deshler, Thomas von Clarmann, and Gabriele Stiller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1217–1239, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1217-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1217-2018, 2018
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Satellite-borne data of sulfur dioxide and a new data set of sulfate aerosol volume densities, as retrieved from MIPAS measurements, are studied in the upper-troposphere–lower-stratosphere region. General patterns of enhanced aerosol are in agreement with SO2. Via chemical transport model simulations for two volcanic eruptions in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes, we show that the volcanic enhancements in MIPAS SO2 and sulfate aerosol are consistent in terms of mass and transport patterns.
Terry Deshler, Rene Stübi, Francis J. Schmidlin, Jennifer L. Mercer, Herman G. J. Smit, Bryan J. Johnson, Rigel Kivi, and Bruno Nardi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 2021–2043, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2021-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2021-2017, 2017
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Ozonesondes, small balloon-borne instruments to measure ozone profiles, are used once and lost. Quality control is thus essential. From the mid-1990s to late 2000s differences in manufacturers' (Science Pump and ENSCI) recommended sensor solution concentrations, 1.0 % and 0.5 % potassium iodide, led to some confusion. This paper uses comparison measurements to derive transfer functions to homogenize the measurements made with non-standard combinations of instrument and sensor solution.
Paolo Di Girolamo, Marco Cacciani, Donato Summa, Andrea Scoccione, Benedetto De Rosa, Andreas Behrendt, and Volker Wulfmeyer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 745–767, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-745-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-745-2017, 2017
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This paper reports what we believe are the first measurements throughout the atmospheric convective boundary layer of higher-order moments (up to the fourth) of the turbulent fluctuations of water vapour mixing ratio and temperature performed by a single lidar system, i.e. the Raman lidar system BASIL. These measurements, in combination with measurements from other lidar systems, are fundamental to verify and possibly improve turbulence parametrisation in weather and climate models.
Francesca Costabile, Stefania Gilardoni, Francesca Barnaba, Antonio Di Ianni, Luca Di Liberto, Davide Dionisi, Maurizio Manigrasso, Marco Paglione, Vanes Poluzzi, Matteo Rinaldi, Maria Cristina Facchini, and Gian Paolo Gobbi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 313–326, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-313-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-313-2017, 2017
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We investigate the particle size distribution and spectral optical properties of brown carbon (BrC) associated with the formation of secondary aerosol in the ambient atmosphere and relate these properties to major aerosol chemical components. We found that BrC occurs in particles in the droplet mode size range, enriched in ammonium nitrate and poor in black carbon (BC), with a strong dependance on the organic aerosol to BC ratio.
Gerald E. Nedoluha, Brian J. Connor, Thomas Mooney, James W. Barrett, Alan Parrish, R. Michael Gomez, Ian Boyd, Douglas R. Allen, Michael Kotkamp, Stefanie Kremser, Terry Deshler, Paul Newman, and Michelle L. Santee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10725–10734, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10725-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10725-2016, 2016
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Chlorine monoxide (ClO) is central to the formation of the springtime Antarctic ozone hole since it is the catalytic agent in the most important ozone-depleting chemical cycle. We present 20 years of measurements of ClO from the Chlorine monOxide Experiment at Scott Base, Antarctica, and 12 years of measurements from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder to show that the trends in ClO during the ozone hole season are consistent with changes in stratospheric chlorine observed elsewhere.
Markus Hermann, Andreas Weigelt, Denise Assmann, Sascha Pfeifer, Thomas Müller, Thomas Conrath, Jens Voigtländer, Jost Heintzenberg, Alfred Wiedensohler, Bengt G. Martinsson, Terry Deshler, Carl A. M. Brenninkmeijer, and Andreas Zahn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2179–2194, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2179-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2179-2016, 2016
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Aerosol particles are an important component of the Earth's atmosphere. Here we describe the composition and characterization of a new optical particle size spectrometer (OPSS) for aircraft-borne measurements of the aerosol particle size distribution (how many particles there are with a certain size) in the 140–1050 nm size range. The OPSS was characterized throughout concerning its measurement capabilities (response, pressure dependence, coincidence) and validated versus balloon measurement.
Bernadette Rosati, Erik Herrmann, Silvia Bucci, Federico Fierli, Francesco Cairo, Martin Gysel, Ralf Tillmann, Johannes Größ, Gian Paolo Gobbi, Luca Di Liberto, Guido Di Donfrancesco, Alfred Wiedensohler, Ernest Weingartner, Annele Virtanen, Thomas F. Mentel, and Urs Baltensperger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4539–4554, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4539-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4539-2016, 2016
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We present vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties, which were explored within the planetary boundary layer in a case study in 2012 in the Po Valley region. A comparison of in situ measurements recorded aboard a Zeppelin NT and ground-based remote-sensing data was performed yielding good agreement. Additionally, the role of ambient relative humidity for the aerosol particles' optical properties was investigated.
L. Di Liberto, R. Lehmann, I. Tritscher, F. Fierli, J. L. Mercer, M. Snels, G. Di Donfrancesco, T. Deshler, B. P. Luo, J-U. Grooß, E. Arnone, B. M. Dinelli, and F. Cairo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6651–6665, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6651-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6651-2015, 2015
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We investigated chemical and microphysical processes in the late winter Antarctic stratosphere, for the first time (to our knowledge) coupling a detailed microphysical box model to a chemistry model.
Model results have been compared with in situ and remote sensing measurements of particles along trajectories.
Our goal is to contribute to the most recent discussion of the relative role of PSC and liquid (background) aerosol in the ozone depletion.
W. Frey, S. Borrmann, F. Fierli, R. Weigel, V. Mitev, R. Matthey, F. Ravegnani, N. M. Sitnikov, A. Ulanovsky, and F. Cairo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13223–13240, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13223-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13223-2014, 2014
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This study presents in situ cloud microphysical observations obtained during a double flight in a Hector thunderstorm during the SCOUT-O3 campaign from Darwin, Northern Australia, in 2005. The measurements show a change of the micophysics with the storm's evolution. The clouds in the dissipating stage possess a high potential for affecting the humidity in the tropical tropopause layer.
S. Bucci, C. Cagnazzo, F. Cairo, L. Di Liberto, and F. Fierli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4369–4381, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4369-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4369-2014, 2014
M. von Hobe, S. Bekki, S. Borrmann, F. Cairo, F. D'Amato, G. Di Donfrancesco, A. Dörnbrack, A. Ebersoldt, M. Ebert, C. Emde, I. Engel, M. Ern, W. Frey, S. Genco, S. Griessbach, J.-U. Grooß, T. Gulde, G. Günther, E. Hösen, L. Hoffmann, V. Homonnai, C. R. Hoyle, I. S. A. Isaksen, D. R. Jackson, I. M. Jánosi, R. L. Jones, K. Kandler, C. Kalicinsky, A. Keil, S. M. Khaykin, F. Khosrawi, R. Kivi, J. Kuttippurath, J. C. Laube, F. Lefèvre, R. Lehmann, S. Ludmann, B. P. Luo, M. Marchand, J. Meyer, V. Mitev, S. Molleker, R. Müller, H. Oelhaf, F. Olschewski, Y. Orsolini, T. Peter, K. Pfeilsticker, C. Piesch, M. C. Pitts, L. R. Poole, F. D. Pope, F. Ravegnani, M. Rex, M. Riese, T. Röckmann, B. Rognerud, A. Roiger, C. Rolf, M. L. Santee, M. Scheibe, C. Schiller, H. Schlager, M. Siciliani de Cumis, N. Sitnikov, O. A. Søvde, R. Spang, N. Spelten, F. Stordal, O. Sumińska-Ebersoldt, A. Ulanovski, J. Ungermann, S. Viciani, C. M. Volk, M. vom Scheidt, P. von der Gathen, K. Walker, T. Wegner, R. Weigel, S. Weinbruch, G. Wetzel, F. G. Wienhold, I. Wohltmann, W. Woiwode, I. A. K. Young, V. Yushkov, B. Zobrist, and F. Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9233–9268, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9233-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9233-2013, 2013
J. Gazeaux, C. Clerbaux, M. George, J. Hadji-Lazaro, J. Kuttippurath, P.-F. Coheur, D. Hurtmans, T. Deshler, M. Kovilakam, P. Campbell, V. Guidard, F. Rabier, and J.-N. Thépaut
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 613–620, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-613-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-613-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Clouds | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Validation and Intercomparisons
Applicability of the low-cost OPC-N3 optical particle counter for microphysical measurements of fog
Technique for comparison of backscatter coefficients derived from in situ cloud probe measurements with concurrent airborne lidar
Intercomparison of holographic imaging and single-particle forward light scattering in situ measurements of liquid clouds in changing atmospheric conditions
Design and field campaign validation of a multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle and optical particle counter
In situ cloud ground-based measurements in the Finnish sub-Arctic: intercomparison of three cloud spectrometer setups
Evaluation of cloud properties from reanalyses over East Asia with a radiance-based approach
Laboratory and in-flight evaluation of measurement uncertainties from a commercial Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP)
A statistical comparison of cirrus particle size distributions measured using the 2-D stereo probe during the TC4, SPARTICUS, and MACPEX flight campaigns with historical cirrus datasets
Comparing the cloud vertical structure derived from several methods based on radiosonde profiles and ground-based remote sensing measurements
A comparison of light backscattering and particle size distribution measurements in tropical cirrus clouds
Cloud particle size distributions measured with an airborne digital in-line holographic instrument
Katarzyna Nurowska, Moein Mohammadi, Szymon Malinowski, and Krzysztof Markowicz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2415–2430, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2415-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2415-2023, 2023
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In this paper we evaluate the low-cost Alphasense OPC-N3 optical particle counter for measurements of fog microphysics. We compare OPC-N3 with the Oxford Lasers VisiSize D30. This work is significant because OPC-N3 can be used with drones for vertical profiles in fog.
Shawn Wendell Wagner and David James Delene
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6447–6466, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6447-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6447-2022, 2022
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Jet engine power loss due to ice accumulation is a hazard in high-altitude clouds. A potential tool for informing pilots when entering such clouds is an onboard lidar system. Lidar and wing-mounted probe backscatter coefficients agree within uncertainties for liquid clouds but not for ice clouds. The lidar measurements are correlated with total water content over a broad range of environments, which indicates that the lidar system is useful for detecting hazardous ice cloud conditions.
Petri Tiitta, Ari Leskinen, Ville A. Kaikkonen, Eero O. Molkoselkä, Anssi J. Mäkynen, Jorma Joutsensaari, Silvia Calderon, Sami Romakkaniemi, and Mika Komppula
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2993–3009, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2993-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2993-2022, 2022
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The novel holographic imaging instrument (ICEMET) was adapted to measure the microphysical properties of liquid clouds, and these values were compared with parallel measurements of a cloud droplet spectrometer (FM-120) and particle measurements using a twin-inlet system. When the intercomparison was carried out during isoaxial sampling, our results showed good agreement in terms of variability between the instruments. This agreement was confirmed using Mutual and Pearson correlation analyses.
Joseph Girdwood, Helen Smith, Warren Stanley, Zbigniew Ulanowski, Chris Stopford, Charles Chemel, Konstantinos-Matthaios Doulgeris, David Brus, David Campbell, and Robert Mackenzie
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6613–6630, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6613-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6613-2020, 2020
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We present the design and validation of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a bespoke optical particle counter (OPC). This is used to monitor atmospheric particles, which have significant effects on our weather and climate. These effects are hard to characterise properly, partly because they occur in regions that are not commonly accessible to traditional instrumentation. Our new platform gives us the capability to access these regions.
Konstantinos-Matthaios Doulgeris, Mika Komppula, Sami Romakkaniemi, Antti-Pekka Hyvärinen, Veli-Matti Kerminen, and David Brus
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5129–5147, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5129-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5129-2020, 2020
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We intercompared three cloud spectrometers ground setups in conditions with frequently occurring supercooled clouds. The measurements were conducted during the Pallas Cloud Experiment (PaCE) in 2013, in the Finnish sub-Arctic region at Sammaltunturi station. The main meteorological parameters influencing the spectrometers' performance was the wind direction. Final recommendations and our view on the main limitations of each spectrometer ground setup are presented.
Bin Yao, Chao Liu, Yan Yin, Zhiquan Liu, Chunxiang Shi, Hironobu Iwabuchi, and Fuzhong Weng
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1033–1049, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1033-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1033-2020, 2020
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Due to the complex spatiotemporal and physical properties of clouds, their quantitative depictions in different atmospheric reanalysis datasets are still highly uncertain. A radiance-based evaluation approach is developed to evaluate the quality of cloud properties by directly comparing them with satellite radiance observations. ERA5 and CRA are found to have great capability in representing the cloudy atmosphere over East Asia, and MERRA-2 tends to slightly overestimate clouds over the region.
Spencer Faber, Jeffrey R. French, and Robert Jackson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3645–3659, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3645-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3645-2018, 2018
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Laboratory and in-flight evaluations of uncertainties of measurements from a cloud droplet probe are presented. This study extends results of earlier studies by examining instrument response over a greater range of droplet sizes throughout the entire sample volume. Errors in droplet sizing based on the laboratory measurements tend to be less than 10 %, significantly less than typically quoted sizing accuracy for this class of instrument.
M. Christian Schwartz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3041–3055, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3041-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3041-2017, 2017
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Measurements of ice cloud particle populations are needed to improve climate and weather prediction. This paper makes a comparison between ice cloud particle populations measured using two different airborne cloud particle probes. It is concluded that measurements of particle populations from older probes are similar to those from newer probes, except in total numbers of particles counted. Therefore, more airborne studies of ice clouds need to be made using newer cloud particle probes.
M. Costa-Surós, J. Calbó, J. A. González, and C. N. Long
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2757–2773, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2757-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2757-2014, 2014
F. Cairo, G. Di Donfrancesco, M. Snels, F. Fierli, M. Viterbini, S. Borrmann, and W. Frey
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 4, 557–570, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-4-557-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-4-557-2011, 2011
J. P. Fugal and R. A. Shaw
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 2, 259–271, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2-259-2009, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2-259-2009, 2009
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Short summary
The T-matrix theory was used to compute the backscatter and depolarization of mixed-phase PSC, assuming that particles are solid (NAT or possibly ice) above a threshold radius R and liquid (STS) below, and a single shape is common to all solid particles. We used a dataset of coincident lidar and balloon-borne backscattersonde and OPC measurements. The agreement between modelled and measured backscatter is reasonable and allows us to constrain the parameters R and AR.
The T-matrix theory was used to compute the backscatter and depolarization of mixed-phase PSC,...
