Seasonal variations of the relative optical air mass function for background aerosol and thin cirrus clouds at Arctic and Antarctic sites

Year: 2015

Authors: Tomasi C., Petkov B.H., Mazzola M., Ritter C., di Sarra A.G., Di Iorio T., Del Guasta M.

Autors Affiliation: Natl Council Res CNR, Inst Atmospher Sci & Climate ISAC, Climate Change Div, I-40129 Bologna, Italy; Alfred Wegener Inst Polar & Marine Res AWI, Climate Syst Div, D-14473 Potsdam, Germany; Natl Agcy New Technol Energy & Sustainable Econ D, Lab Earth Observat & Anal UTMEA TER, I-00123 Rome, Italy; Natl Council Res CNR, Natl Inst Opt INO, I-50019 Florence, Italy.

Abstract: New calculations of the relative optical air mass function are made over the 0 degrees-87 degrees range of apparent solar zenith angle theta, for various vertical profiles of background aerosol, diamond dust and thin cirrus cloud particle extinction coefficient in the Arctic and Antarctic atmospheres. The calculations were carried out by following the Tomasi and Petkov (2014) procedure, in which the above-mentioned vertical profiles derived from lidar observations were used as weighting functions. Different sets of lidar measurements were examined, recorded using: (i) the Koldewey-Aerosol-Raman Lidar (KARL) system (AWI, Germany) at Ny-angstrom lesund (Spitsbergen, Svalbard) in January, April, July and October 2013; (ii) the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite-based sensor over Barrow (Alaska), Eureka (Nunavut, Canada) and Sodankyla (northern Finland), and Neumayer III, Mario Zucchelli and Mirny coastal stations in Antarctica in the local summer months of the last two years; (iii) the National Institute of Optics (INO), National Council of Research (CNR) Antarctic lidar at Dome C on the Antarctic Plateau for a typical \”diamond dust\” case; and (iv) the KARL lidar at Ny-angstrom lesund and the University of Rome/National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) lidar at Thule (northwestern Greenland) for some cirrus cloud layers in the middle and upper troposphere. The relative optical air mass calculations are compared with those obtained by Tomasi and Petkov (2014) to define the seasonal changes produced by aerosol particles, diamond dust and cirrus clouds. The results indicate that the corresponding air mass functions generally decrease as angle theta increases with rates that are proportional to the increase in the pure aerosol, diamond dust and cirrus cloud particle optical thickness.

Journal/Review: REMOTE SENSING

Volume: 7 (6)      Pages from: 7157  to: 7180

More Information: The present research activity has been supported by the Programma Nazionale di Ricerca in Antartide (PNRA) as a part of the subproject 2006/6.01 \”POLAR-AOD: a network to characterize the means, variability and trends of the climate-forcing properties of aerosols in polar regions\”. The University of Rome/ENEA lidar measurements conducted at Thule were supported by PNRA under grant 2009/A3.04. Radiosoudings conducted at Mario Zucchelli and Concordia were supported by PNRA under grant 2009/B.06.
KeyWords: Background Antarctic aerosol at coastal sites; Background Arctic aerosol in summer; Cirrus clouds in the middle troposphere; Aerosols; Clouds; Coastal engineering; Diamonds; Dust; Functions; Troposphere, Arctic aerosols; Cirrus clouds; Coastal sites; Ground layer; Relative optical air mass; Thin cirrus, Optical radar
DOI: 10.3390/rs70607157

ImpactFactor: 3.036
Citations: 8
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