Engineering topics
Schmid, B.
Publications and source records attributed to Schmid, B..
Extending "Deep Blue" Aerosol Retrieval Coverage to Cases of Absorbing Aerosols Above Clouds: Sensitivity Analysis and First Case Studies
Cases of absorbing aerosols above clouds (AACs), such as smoke or mineral dust, are omitted from most routinely processed space-based aerosol optical depth (AOD) data products, including those from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). This study presents a sensitivity analysis and preliminary algorithm to retrieve above-cloud AOD and liquid cloud optical depth (COD) for AAC cases from MODIS or similar sensors, for incorporation into a future version of the "Deep Blue" AOD data product. Detailed retrieval simulations suggest that these sensors should be able to determine AAC AOD with a typical level of uncertainty approximately 25-50 percent (with lower uncertainties for more strongly absorbing aerosol types) and COD with an uncertainty approximately10-20 percent, if an appropriate aerosol optical model is known beforehand. Errors are larger, particularly if the aerosols are only weakly absorbing, if the aerosol optical properties are not known, and the appropriate model to use must also be retrieved. Actual retrieval errors are also compared to uncertainty envelopes obtained through the optimal estimation (OE) technique; OE-based uncertainties are found to be generally reasonable for COD but larger than actual retrieval errors for AOD, due in part to difficulties in quantifying the degree of spectral correlation of forward model error. The algorithm is also applied to two MODIS scenes (one smoke and one dust) for which near-coincident NASA Ames Airborne Tracking Sun photometer (AATS) data were available to use as a ground truth AOD data source, and found to be in good agreement, demonstrating the validity of the technique with real observations.
Aerosol-Radiation-Cloud Interactions in the South-East Atlantic: Future Suborbital Activities to Address Knowledge Gaps in Satellite and Model Assessments
Southern Africa produces almost a third of the Earth's biomass burning (BB) aerosol particles. Particles lofted into the mid-troposphere are transported westward over the South-East (SE) Atlantic, home to one of the three permanent subtropical stratocumulus (Sc) cloud decks in the world. The SE Atlantic stratocumulus deck interacts with the dense layers of BB aerosols that initially overlay the cloud deck, but later subside and may mix into the clouds. These interactions include adjustments to aerosol-induced solar heating and microphysical effects, and their global representation in climate models remains one of the largest uncertainties in estimates of future climate. Hence, new observations over the SE Atlantic have significant implications for global climate change scenarios. Our understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions in the SE Atlantic is hindered both by the lack of knowledge on aerosol and cloud properties, as well as the lack of knowledge about detailed physical processes involved. Most notably, we are missing knowledge on the absorptive and cloud nucleating properties of aerosols, including their vertical distribution relative to clouds, on the locations and degree of aerosol mixing into clouds, on the processes that govern cloud property adjustments, and on the importance of aerosol effects on clouds relative to co-varying synoptic scale meteorology. We discuss the current knowledge of aerosol and cloud property distributions based on satellite observations and sparse suborbital sampling. Recent efforts to make full use of A-Train aerosol sensor synergies will be highlighted. We describe planned field campaigns in the region to address the existing knowledge gaps. Specifically, we describe the scientific objectives and implementation of the five synergistic, international research activities aimed at providing some of the key aerosol and cloud properties and a process-level understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions over the SE Atlantic: NASA's ORACLES, the UK Met Office's CLARIFY-2016, the DoE's LASIC, NSF's ONFIRE, and CNRS' AEROCLO-SA.
4STAR Sky-Scanning Retrievals of Aerosol Intensive Optical Properties from Multiple Field Campaigns with Detailed Comparisons of SSA Reported During SEAC4RS
The 4STAR (Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research) instrument combines airborne sun tracking capabilities of the Ames Airborne Tracking Sun Photometer (AATS-14) with AERONET-like sky-scanning capability and adds state-of-the-art fiber-coupled grating spectrometry to yield hyper spectral measurements of direct solar irradiance and angularly resolved sky radiance. The combination of sun-tracking and sky-scanning capability enables retrievals of wavelength-dependent aerosol optical depth (AOD), mode-resolved aerosol size distribution (SD), asphericity, and complex refractive index, and thus also the scattering phase function, asymmetry parameter, single-scattering albedo (SSA), and absorption aerosol optical thickness (AAOT).From 2012 to 2014 4STAR participated in four major field campaigns: the U.S. Dept. of Energy TCAP I II campaigns, and NASAs SEAC4RS and ARISE campaigns. Establishing a strong performance record, 4STAR operated successfully on all flights conducted during each of these campaigns. Sky radiance spectra from scans in either constant azimuth (principal plane) or constant zenith angle (almucantar) were interspersed with direct beam measurements during level legs. During SEAC4RS and ARISE, 4STAR airborne measurements were augmented with flight-level albedo from the collocated Shortwave Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) providing improved specification of below-aircraft radiative conditions for the retrieval. Calibrated radiances and retrieved products will be presented with particular emphasis on detailed comparisons of ambient SSA retrievals and measurements during SEAC4RS from 4STAR, AERONET, HSRL2, and from in situ measurements.
Extending MODIS Deep Blue Aerosol Retrieval Coverage to Cases of Absorbing Aerosols Above Clouds: First Results
Absorbing smoke or mineral dust aerosols above clouds (AAC) are a frequent occurrence in certain regions and seasons. Operational aerosol retrievals from sensors like MODIS omit AAC because they are designed to work only over cloud-free scenes. However, AAC can in principle be quantified by these sensors in some situations (e.g. Jethva et al., 2013; Meyer et al., 2013). We present a summary of some analyses of the potential of MODIS-like instruments for this purpose, along with two case studies using airborne observations from the Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS; http://geo.arc.nasa.gov/sgg/AATS-website/) as a validation data source for a preliminary AAC algorithm applied to MODIS measurements. AAC retrievals will eventually be added to the MODIS Deep Blue (Hsu et al., 2013) processing chain.
Aerosol Properties Derived from Airborne Sky Radiance and Direct Beam Measurements in Recent NASA and DoE Field Campaigns
The AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) ground-based suite of sunphotometers provides measurements of spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD), precipitable water and spectral sky radiance, which can be inverted to retrieve aerosol microphysical properties that are critical to assessments of aerosol-climate interactions. Because of data quality criteria and sampling constraints, there are significant limitations to the temporal and spatial coverage of AERONET data and their representativeness for global aerosol conditions.The 4STAR (Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research) instrument, jointly developed by NASA Ames and PNNL (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) with NASA Goddard collaboration, combines airborne sun tracking and AERONET-like sky scanning with spectroscopic detection. Being an airborne instrument, 4STAR has the potential to fill gaps in the AERONET data set. The 4STAR instrument operated successfully in the SEAC4RS (Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys) experiment in Aug./Sep. 2013 aboard the NASA DC-8 and in the DoE (Department of Energy)-sponsored TCAP (Two Column Aerosol Project, July 2012 & Feb. 2013) experiment aboard the DoE G-1 aircraft. 4STAR provided direct beam measurements of hyperspectral AOD, columnar trace gas retrievals (H2O, O3, NO2), and the first ever airborne hyperspectral sky radiance scans, which can be inverted to yield the same products as AERONET ground-based observations. In this presentation, we provide an overview of the new 4STAR capabilities, with an emphasis on 26 high-quality sky radiance measurements carried out by 4STAR in SEAC4RS. We compare collocated 4STAR and AERONET sky radiances, as well as their retrievals of aerosol microphysical properties for a subset of the available case studies. We summarize the particle property and air-mass characterization studies made possible by the combined 4STAR direct beam and sky radiance observations.
In-Situ and Remote-Sensing Data Fusion Using Machine Learning Techniques to Infer Urban and Fire Related Pollution Plumes
Airmass type characterization is key in understanding the relative contribution of various emission sources to atmospheric composition and air quality and can be useful in bottom-up model validation and emission inventories. However, classification of pollution plumes from space is often not trivial. Sub-orbital campaigns, such as SEAC4RS (Studies of Emissions, Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys) give us a unique opportunity to study atmospheric composition in detail, by using a vast suite of in-situ instruments for the detection of trace gases and aerosols. These measurements allow identification of spatial and temporal atmospheric composition changes due to various pollution plumes resulting from urban, biogenic and smoke emissions. Nevertheless, to transfer the knowledge gathered from such campaigns into a global spatial and temporal context, there is a need to develop workflow that can be applicable to measurements from space. In this work we rely on sub-orbital in-situ and total column remote sensing measurements of various pollution plumes taken aboard the NASA DC-8 during 2013 SEAC4RS campaign, linking them through a neural-network (NN) algorithm to allow inference of pollution plume types by input of columnar aerosol and trace-gas measurements. In particular, we use the 4STAR (Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research) airborne measurements of wavelength dependent aerosol optical depth (AOD), particle size proxies, O3, NO2 and water vapor to classify different pollution plumes. Our method relies on assigning a-priori ground-truth labeling to the various plumes, which include urban pollution, different fire types (i.e. forest and agriculture) and fire stage (i.e. fresh and aged) using cluster analysis of aerosol and trace-gases in-situ and auxiliary (e.g. trajectory) data and the training of a NN scheme to fit the best prediction parameters using 4STAR measurements as input. We explore our misclassification rates as related to our ground-truth labels, and with multi-layered pollution plume cases. The next step in our analysis is to optimize parameter selection for a scheme that can be applied to space-borne aerosol and trace-gas observation platforms such as OMI, and future geostationary satellites such as TEMPO and GEO-CAPE.
Upgrade of the NASA 4STAR (Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research) to its Full Science Capability of Sun-Sky-Cloud-Trace Gas Spectrometry in Airborne Science Deployments
The objectives of this task in the AITT (Airborne Instrument Technology Transition) Program are to (1) upgrade the NASA 4STAR (Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research) instrument to its full science capability of measuring (a) direct-beam sun transmission to derive aerosol optical depth spectra, (b) sky radiance vs scattering angle to retrieve aerosol absorption and type (via complex refractive index spectra, shape, and mode-resolved size distribution), (c) zenith radiance for cloud properties, and (d) hyperspectral signals for trace gas retrievals, and (2) demonstrate its suitability for deployment in challenging NASA airborne multiinstrument campaigns. 4STAR combines airborne sun tracking, sky scanning, and zenith pointing with diffraction spectroscopy to improve knowledge of atmospheric constituents and their links to air pollution, radiant energy budgets (hence climate), and remote measurements of Earth's surfaces. Direct beam hyperspectral measurement of optical depth improves retrievals of gas constituents and determination of aerosol properties. Sky scanning enhances retrievals of aerosol type and size distribution. 4STAR measurements are intended to tighten the closure between satellite and ground-based measurements. 4STAR incorporates a modular sun-tracking/sky-scanning optical head with fiber optic signal transmission to rack mounted spectrometers, permitting miniaturization of the external optical head, and future detector evolution. 4STAR test flights, as well as science flights in the 2012-13 TCAP (Two-Column Aerosol Project) and 2013 SEAC4RS (Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys) have demonstrated that the following are essential for 4STAR to achieve its full science potential: (1) Calibration stability for both direct-beam irradiance and sky radiance, (2) Improved light collection and usage, and (3) Improved flight operability and reliability. A particular challenge for the AITT-4STAR project has been conducting it simultaneously with preparations for, and execution of, ARISE (Arctic Radiation - IceBridge Sea&Ice Experiment), a NASA airborne science deployment (unplanned when AITT-4STAR was selected for funding) in which 4STAR will deploy to Thule, Greenland, and Fairbanks, Alaska, on the NASA C- 130. This presentation describes progress to date in accomplishing AITT-4STAR goals, and plans for project completion.
Aerosol, Cloud and Trace Gas Observations Derived from Airborne Hyperspectral Radiance and Direct Beam Measurements in Recent Field Campaigns
The AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) ground-based suite of sunphotometers provides measurements of spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD), precipitable water and spectral sky radiance, which can be inverted to retrieve aerosol microphysical properties that are critical to assessments of aerosol-climate interactions. Because of data quality criteria and sampling constraints, there are significant limitations to the temporal and spatial coverage of AERONET data and their representativeness for global aerosol conditions. The 4STAR (Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research) instrument, jointly developed by NASA Ames and PNNL with NASA Goddard collaboration, combines airborne sun tracking and AERONET-like sky scanning with spectroscopic detection. Being an airborne instrument, 4STAR has the potential to fill gaps in the AERONET data set. Dunagan et al. [2013] present results establishing the performance of the instrument, along with calibration, engineering flight test, and preliminary scientific field data. The 4STAR instrument operated successfully in the SEAC4RS [Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys] experiment in Aug./Sep. 2013 aboard the NASA DC-8 and in the DoE [Department of Energy]-sponsored TCAP [Two Column Aerosol Project, July 2012 & Feb. 2013] experiment aboard the DoE G-1 aircraft (Shinozuka et al., 2013), and acquired a wealth of data in support of mission objectives on all SEAC4RS and TCAP research flights. 4STAR provided direct beam measurements of hyperspectral AOD, columnar trace gas retrievals (H2O, O3, NO2; Segal-Rosenheimer et al., 2014), and the first ever airborne hyperspectral sky radiance scans, which can be inverted to yield the same products as AERONET ground-based observations. In addition, 4STAR measured zenith radiances underneath cloud decks for retrievals of cloud optical depth and effective diameter. In this presentation, we provide an overview of the new 4STAR capabilities for airborne field campaigns, with an emphasis on comparisons between 4STAR and AERONET sky radiances, and retrievals of aerosol microphysical properties based on sky radiance measurements, column trace gas amounts from spectral direct beam measurements and cloud property retrievals from zenith mode observations for a few select case studies in the SEAC4RS and TCAP experiments. We summarize the aerosol, trace gas, cloud and airmass characterization studies made possible by the combined 4STAR direct beam, and sky/zenith radiance observations.
Overview of the 2010 Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES)
Substantial uncertainties still exist in the scientific understanding of the possible interactions between urban and natural (biogenic) emissions in the production and transformation of atmospheric aerosol and the resulting impact on climate change. The US Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program's Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) carried out in June 2010 in Central Valley, California, was a comprehensive effort designed to improve this understanding. The primary objective of the field study was to investigate the evolution of secondary organic and black carbon aerosols and their climate-related properties in the Sacramento urban plume as it was routinely transported into the forested Sierra Nevada foothills area. Urban aerosols and trace gases experienced significant physical and chemical transformations as they mixed with the reactive biogenic hydrocarbons emitted from the forest. Two heavily-instrumented ground sites - one within the Sacramento urban area and another about 40 km to the northeast in the foothills area - were set up to characterize the evolution of meteorological variables, trace gases, aerosol precursors, aerosol size, composition, and climaterelated properties in freshly polluted and "aged" urban air. On selected days, the DOE G-1 aircraft was deployed to make similar measurements upwind and across the evolving Sacramento plume in the morning and again in the afternoon. The NASA B-200 aircraft, carrying remote sensing instruments, was also deployed to characterize the vertical and horizontal distribution of aerosols and aerosol optical properties within and around the plume. This overview provides: (a) the scientific background and motivation for the study, (b) the operational and logistical information pertinent to the execution of the study, (c) an overview of key observations and initial findings from the aircraft and ground-based sampling platforms, and (d) a roadmap of planned data analyses and focused modeling efforts that will facilitate the integration of new knowledge into improved representations of key aerosol processes and properties in climate models.
Comparison of Water Vapor Measurements by Airborne Sun Photometer and Near-Coincident in Situ and Satellite Sensors during INTEX/ITCT 2004
We have retrieved columnar water vapor (CWV) from measurements acquired by the 14-channel NASA Ames Airborne Tracking Sun photometer (AATS-14) during 19 Jetstream 31 (J31) flights over the Gulf of Maine in summer 2004 in support of the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX)/Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation (ITCT) experiments. In this paper we compare AATS-14 water vapor retrievals during aircraft vertical profiles with measurements by an onboard Vaisala HMP243 humidity sensor and by ship radiosondes and with water vapor profiles retrieved from AIRS measurements during eight Aqua overpasses. We also compare AATS CWV and MODIS infrared CWV retrievals during five Aqua and five Terra overpasses. For 35 J31 vertical profiles, mean (bias) and RMS AATS-minus-Vaisala layer-integrated water vapor (LWV) differences are -7.1 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively. For 22 aircraft profiles within 1 hour and 130 km of radiosonde soundings, AATS-minus-sonde bias and RMS LWV differences are -5.4 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively, and corresponding J31 Vaisala-minus-sonde differences are 2.3 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively. AIRS LWV retrievals within 80 lan of J31 profiles yield lower bias and RMS differences compared to AATS or Vaisala retrievals than do AIRS retrievals within 150 km of the J31. In particular, for AIRS-minus-AATS LWV differences, the bias decreases from 8.8 percent to 5.8 percent, and the RMS difference decreases from 2 1.5 percent to 16.4 percent. Comparison of vertically resolved AIRS water vapor retrievals (LWVA) to AATS values in fixed pressure layers yields biases of -2 percent to +6 percent and RMS differences of -20 percent below 700 hPa. Variability and magnitude of these differences increase significantly above 700 hPa. MODIS IR retrievals of CWV in 205 grid cells (5 x 5 km at nadir) are biased wet by 10.4 percent compared to AATS over-ocean near-surface retrievals. The MODIS-Aqua subset (79 grid cells) exhibits a wet bias of 5.1 percent, and the MODIS-Terra subset (126 grid cells) yields a wet bias of 13.2 percent.
Multi-Grid-Cell Validation of Satellite Aerosol Property Retrievals in INTEX/ITCT/ICARTT 2004
Aerosol transport off the US Northeast coast during the Summer 2004 International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT) Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX) and Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation (ITCT) experiments produced a wide range of aerosol types and aerosol optical depth (AOD) values, often with strong horizontal AOD gradients. In these conditions we flew the 14-channel NASA Ames Airborne Tracking Sun photometer (AATS) on a Jetstream 31 (J31) aircraft. Legs flown at low altitude (usually less than 100 m ASL) provided comparisons of AATS AOD spectra to retrievals for 90 grid cells of the satellite radiometers MODIS-Terra, MODIS-Aqua, and MISR, all over the ocean. Characterization of the retrieval environment was aided by using vertical profiles by the J31 (showing aerosol vertical structure) and, on occasion, shipboard measurements of light scattering and absorption. AATS provides AOD at 13 wavelengths lambda from 354 to 2138 nm, spanning the range of aerosol retrieval wavelengths for MODIS over ocean (466-2119 nm) and MISR (446-866 nm). Midvisible AOD on low-altitude J31 legs in satellite grid cells ranged from 0.05 to 0.9, with horizontal gradients often in the range 0.05 to 0.13 per 10 km. When possible, we used ship measurements of humidified aerosol scattering and absorption to estimate AOD below the J31. In these cases, which had J31 altitudes 60-110 m ASL (typical of J31 low-altitude transects), estimated midvisible AOD below the J31 ranged from 0.003 to 0.013, with mean 0.009 and standard deviation 0.003. These values averaged 6 percent of AOD above the 53 1. MISR-AATS comparisons on 29 July 2004 in 8 grid cells (each -17.6 km x 17.6 km) show that MISR versions 15 and 16 captured the AATS-measured AOD gradient (correlation coefficient R2 = 0.87 to 0.92), but the MISR gradient was somewhat weaker than the AATS gradient. The large AOD (midvisible values up to -0.9) and differing gradients in this case produced root-mean-square (RMS) MISR-AATS AOD differences of 0.03 to 0.21 (9 to 31%). MISR V15 Angstrom exponent alpha (= -dlnAOD/dln lambda) was closer to AATS than was MISR V16. MODIS-AATS AOD comparisons on 8 overpasses using 61 grid cells (each nominally 10 km x 10 km) had R2 approximately 0.97, with RMS AOD difference approximately 0.03 (approximately 20%). About 87% of the MODIS AOD retrievals differed from AATS values by less than the predicted MODIS over-ocean uncertainty, Delta tau = plus/minus 0.03 plus/minus 0.05 tau. In contrast to the small MODIS-AATS differences in AOD, MODIS-AATS differences in Angstrom exponent alpha were large: RMS differences for alpha (553, 855 nm) were 0.28 for MODIS-Terra and 0.64 for MODIS-Aqua; RMS differences for alpha (855, 2119 nm) were larger still, 0.61 for MODIS-Terra and 1.14 for MODIS-Aqua. The largest MODIS-AATS Angstrom exponent differences were associated with small AOD values, for which MODIS AOD relative uncertainty is large. Excluding cases with AOD(855 nm) less than 0.1 reduced MODIS-AATS alpha differences substantially. In one grid cell on 21 July 2004, smoke over cloud appeared to impair the MODIS-Aqua cloud mask, resulting in retrieved AODs that significantly exceeded AATS values. Experiments with extending MODIS retrievals into the glint mask yielded MODIS AODs consistently less than AATS AODs, especially at long wavelength, indicating that the current MODIS glint mask limits should not be reduced to the extent tried here. The sign of the AOD differences within the glint mask (MODIS AOD less than AATS AOD) is consistent with ship-measured wind speeds there.
Assessment of MODIS-Derived Visible and Near-IR Aerosol Optical Properties and their Spatial Variability in the Presence of Mineral Dust
Mineral dust aerosol is among the most difficult aerosol species to measure quantitatively from space. In this paper, we evaluate MODIS retrievals of spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the visible to the near-IR off the US West Coast using measurements taken by the NASA Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer, AATS-14, during the EVE (Extended-MODIS-lambda Validation Experiment, 2004) campaign in April of 2004. In EVE, a total of 35 and 49 coincident over-ocean suborbital measurements at the nominal level-2 retrieval scale of 10 km x 10 km were collected for Terra and Aqua, respectively. For MODIS-Terra about 80% of the AOD retrievals are within the estimated uncertainty, DELTA tau = plus or minus 0.03 plus or minus 0.05 tau; this is true for both the visible (here defined to include 466-855 nm) and near-IR (here defined to include 1243-2119 nm) retrievals. For MODIS-Aqua about 45% of the AOD retrievals are within DELTA tau = plus or minus 0.03 plus or minus 0.05 tau; the fraction of near-IR retrievals that fall within this uncertainty range is about 27%. We found an rms difference of 0.71 between the sunphotometer snd MODIS-Aqua estimates of the visible (553-855 nm) Angstrom exponent, while the MODIS-Terra visible Angstrom exponents show an rms difference of only 0.29 when compared to AATS. The cause of the differences in performance between MODIS-Terra and MODIS-Aqua could be instrument calibration and needs to be explored further. The spatial variability of AOD between retrieval boxes as derived by MODIS is generally larger than that indicated by the sunphotometer data.
Atmospheric Radiation Measurements Aerosol Intensive Operating Period: Comparison of Aerosol Scattering during Coordinated Flights
In May 2003, a Twin Otter airplane, equipped with instruments for making in situ measurements of aerosol optical properties, was deployed during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM) Program s Aerosol Intensive Operational Period in Oklahoma. Several of the Twin Otter flights were flown in formation with an instrumented light aircraft (Cessna 172XP) that makes routine in situ aerosol profile flights over the site. This paper presents comparisons of measured scattering coefficients at 467 nm, 530 nm, and 675 nm between identical commercial nephelometers aboard each aircraft. Overall, the agreement between the two nephelometers decreases with longer wavelength. During the majority of the flights, the Twin Otter flew with a diffuser inlet while the Cessna had a 1 mm impactor, allowing for an estimation of the fine mode fraction aloft. The fine mode fraction aloft was then compared to the results of a ground-based nephelometer. Comparisons are also provided in which both nephelometers operated with identical 1 mm impactors. These scattering coefficient comparisons are favorable at the longer wavelengths (i.e., 530 nm and 675 nm), yet differed by approximately 30% at 467 nm. Mie scattering calculations were performed using size distribution measurements, made during the level flight legs. Results are also presented from Cadenza, a new continuous wave cavity ring-down (CW-CRD) instrument, which compared favorably (i.e., agreed within 2%) with data from other instruments aboard the Twin Otter. With this paper, we highlight the significant implications of coarse mode (larger than 1 mm) aerosol aloft with respect to aerosol optical properties.
How Well do State-of-the-Art Techniques Measuring the Vertical Profile of Tropospheric Aerosol Extinction Compare?
The recent Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerosol Intensive Operations Period (AIOP, May 2003) yielded one of the best measurement sets obtained to date to assess our ability to measure the vertical profile of ambient aerosol extinction sigma(ep)(lambda) in the lower troposphere. During one month, a heavily instrumented aircraft with well-characterized aerosol sampling ability carrying well-proven and new aerosol instrumentation devoted most of the 60 available flight hours to flying vertical profiles over the heavily instrumented ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) Climate Research Facility (CRF). This allowed us to compare vertical extinction profiles obtained from six different instruments: airborne Sun photometer (AATS-14), airborne nephelometer/absorption photometer, airborne cavity ring-down system, groundbased Raman lidar, and two ground-based elastic backscatter lidars. We find the in situ measured sigma(ep)(lambda) to be lower than the AATS-14 derived values. Bias differences are 0.002-0.004 Km!1 equivalent to 13-17% in the visible, or 45% in the near-infrared. On the other hand, we find that with respect to AATS-14, the lidar sigma(ep)(lambda) are higher: Bias differences are 0.004 Km(-1) (13%) and 0.007 Km(-1) (24%) for the two elastic backscatter lidars (MPLNET and MPLARM, lambda = 523 nm) and 0.029 Km(-1) (54%) for the Raman lidar (lambda = 355 nm). An unnoticed loss of sensitivity of the Raman lidar had occurred leading up to AIOP, and we expect better agreement from the recently restored system. Looking at the collective results from six field campaigns conducted since 1996, airborne in situ measurements of sigma(ep)(lambda) tend to be biased slightly low (17% at visible wavelengths) when compared to airborne Sun photometer sigma(ep)(lambda). On the other hand, sigma(ep)(lambda) values derived from lidars tend to have no or positive biases. From the bias differences we conclude that the typical systematic error associated with measuring the tropospheric vertical profile of the ambient aerosol extinction with current state-of-the-art instrumentation is 15-20% at visible wavelengths and potentially larger in the UV and near-infrared.
Aerosol properties computed from aircraft-based observations during the ACE- Asia campaign: A case study of lidar ratio closure and aerosol radiative effects - 2
For a vertical profile with three distinct layers (marine boundary, pollution and dust), observed during the ACE-Asia campaign, we carried out a comparison between the modeled lidar ratio vertical profile and that obtained from collocated airborne NASA AATS-14 sunphotometer and shipborne Micro-Pulse Lidar (MPL) measurements. Vertically resolved lidar ratio was calculated from two size distribution vertical profiles - one obtained by inversion of sunphotometer-derived extinction spectra, and one measured in-situ - combined with the same refractive index model based on aerosol chemical composition. The aerosol model implies single scattering albedos of 0.78 - 0.81 and 0.93 - 0.96 at 0.523 microns (the wavelength of the lidar measurements), in the pollution and dust layers, respectively. The lidar ratios calculated from the two size distribution profiles have close values in the dust layer; they are however, significantly lower than the lidar ratios derived from combined lidar and sunphotometer measurements, most probably due to the use of a simple nonspherical model with a single particle shape in our calculations. In the pollution layer, the two size distribution profiles yield generally different lidar ratios. The retrieved size distributions yield a lidar ratio which is in better agreement with that derived from lidar/sunphotometer measurements in this layer, with still large differences at certain altitudes (the largest relative difference was 46%). We explain these differences by non-uniqueness of the result of the size distribution retrieval and lack of information on vertical variability of particle refractive index. Radiative transfer calculations for this profile showed significant atmospheric radiative forcing, which occurred mainly in the pollution layer. We demonstrate that if the extinction profile is known then information on the vertical structure of absorption and asymmetry parameter is not significant for estimating forcing at TOA and the surface, while it is of importance for estimating vertical profiles of radiative forcing and heating rates.
Evaluation of Aerosol Properties over Ocean from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) during ACE-Asia
The Aerosol Characterization Experiment-Asia (ACE-Asia) was conducted in March-May 2001 in the western North Pacific in order to characterize the complex mix of dust, smoke, urban/industrial pollution, and background marine aerosol that is observed in that region in springtime. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provides a large-scale regional view of the aerosol during the ACE-Asia time period. Focusing only on aerosol retrievals over ocean, MODIS data show latitudinal and longitudinal variation in the aerosol characteristics. Typically, aerosol optical depth (tau(sub a)) values at 0.55 micrometers are highest in the 30 deg. - 50 deg. latitude band associated with dust outbreaks. Monthly mean tau(sub a) in this band ranges approx. 0.40-70, although large differences between monthly mean and median values indicate the periodic nature of these dust outbreaks. The size parameters, fine mode fraction (eta), and effective radius (r(sub eff)) vary between monthly mean values of eta = 0.47 and r(sub eff)= 0.75 micrometers in the cleanest regions far offshore to approximately eta = 0.85 and r(sub eff) =.30 micrometers in near-shore regions dominated by biomass burning smoke. The collocated MODIS retrievals with airborne, ship-based, and ground-based radiometers measurements suggest that MODIS retrievals of spectral optical depth fall well within expected error (DELTA tau(sub a) = plus or minus 0.03 plus or minus 0.05 tau(sub a)) except in situations dominated by dust, in which cases MODIS overestimate both the aerosol loading and the aerosol spectral dependence. Such behavior is consistent with issues related to particle nonsphericity. Comparisons of MODIS-derived r(sub eff) with AERONET retrievals at the few occurrences of collocations show MODIS systematically underestimates particle size by 0.2 micrometers. Multiple-year analysis of MODIS aerosol size parameters suggests systematic differences between the year 2001 and the years 2000 and 2002, which are traced to instrumental electronic cross talk. Sensitivity studies show that such calibration errors are negligible in tau(sub a) retrievals but are more pronounced in size parameter retrievals, especially for dust and sea salt.
Airborne Sunphotometer and Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer Measurements During INTEX/ITCT 2004
During the period 12 July - 8 August 2004, the NASA Ames 14-channel Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (MTS-14) and Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) were operated aboard a Jetstream 31 (J31) aircraft and acquired measurements during nineteen science flights (approx. 53 flight hours) over the Gulf of Maine in support of the INTEX-NA (INtercontinental chemical Transport Experiment-North America) and ITCT (Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation of anthropogenic pollution) field studies. In this paper, we will present results from analyses of those data sets. AATS-14 measures the direct solar beam transmission at fourteen discrete wavelengths (354-2138 nm), and provides instantaneous measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD) spectra and water vapor column content, in addition to vertical profiles of aerosol extinction and water vapor density during suitable aircraft ascents and descents. SSFR consists of separate nadir and zenith viewing hemispheric FOV sensors that yield measurements of up- and downwelling solar irradiance at a spectral resolution of approx. 8-12 nm over the wavelength range 300-1700 nm. The objectives of the J31-based measurements during INTEX/ITCT were to provide AOD data for the evaluation of MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and MISR (Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer) AOD retrievals, quantify sea surface spectral albedo (which can contribute the largest uncertainty to satellite aerosol retrievals for low aerosol loading), test closure (consistency) among suborbital results, test chemical-transport models using AOD profiles, and assess regional radiative forcing by combining satellite and suborbital results. Specific J31 flight patterns were designed to achieve these objectives, and they included a mixture of vertical profiles (spiral and ramped ascents and descents) and constant altitude horizontal transects at a variety of altitudes. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.