Standardization of a new photodiagnosis method based on LEDs for patients with solar urticaria sensitive to visible light

Standard methods for photodiagnosis of solar urticaria are based in exposure of patient skin to different polychromatic UV and visible sources where minimal urticarial doses for different spectral bands (UVB and UVA) are established. Classical photodiagnosis devices are based in solar simulation and use of UVB and UVA enhanced fluorescent lamps. In case of visible US photodiagnosis, US patient skin is exposed for 15 min to a slight projector, provided with halogen lamp, at a distance of 15 cms and presence of erythema and/or wheals is determined as positive reaction. Slights projector is from several years almost out of market due to use of new projection digital technologies and new visible light emerging technologies are good candidates for their substitution as photodiagnosis tool. The objective of the present work is to analyze photodiagnosis of visible light solar urticaria with using a LED device in comparison to normal slight projector exposure protocol. A total of twenty patients, from 7 different photodiagnosis units have participated in the study. Patients, with SU positive to visible light (with or without to UV radiation) following the standard photodiagnosis protocols were included in the study. Slight projector used in all photodiagnosis units were of similar characteristics and irradiance at 15 cm distance, as well as total dose of visible light after 15 min were calculated for each halogen lamp device. LED exposure was performed in parallel in a closed zone of the back of the patients. For LED photodiagnosis a prototype from University of Málaga (Spain) has been developed consisting in a black box provided with 4 holes of 12 mm diameter in which each hole white warm of a LED of 1 W is emitted. Thus, each LEDs dose is controlled independently and the device allows establishing, as well as for UVB and UVA normal protocols a MUD also under visible light. In that case, maximal visible light dose is reached in less than 5 min compared to 15 min under exposure to slight projector. All patients were positive to LED warm visible light with presence of erythema and / or wheals in parallel to the exposure to the slight projector. A MUD to visible light has been established with significant variations between patients which reveals different grade to visible light sensibilization. In conclusion, a new technology of illumination based in LEDs can be used in photodiagnosis of SU.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Standardization of a new photodiagnosis method based on LEDs for patients with solar urticaria

Standard methods for photodiagnosis of solar urticaria are based in exposure of patient skin to different polychromatic UV and visible sources where minimal urticarial doses for different spectral bands (UVB and UVA) are established. Classical photodiagnosis devices are based in solar simulation and use of UVB and UVA enhanced fluorescent lamps. In case of visible US photodiagnosis, US patient skin is exposed for 15 min to a slight projector, provided with halogen lamp, at a distance of 15 cms and presence of erythema and/or wheals is determined as positive reaction. Slights projector is from several years almost out of market due to use of new projection digital technologies and new visible light emerging technologies are good candidates for their substitution as photodiagnosis tool. The objective of the present work is to analyze photodiagnosis of visible light solar urticaria with using a LED device in comparison to normal slight projector exposure protocol. A total of 30patients, from 8 different photodiagnosis units have participated in the study. Patients, with SU positive to visible light (with or without to UV radiation) following the standard photodiagnosis protocols were included in the study. Slight projector used in all photodiagnosis units were of similar characteristics and irradiance at 15 cm distance, as well as total dose of visible light after 15 min were calculated for each halogen lamp device. LED exposure was performed in parallel in a closed zone of the back of the patients. For LED photodiagnosis a prototype from University of Málaga (Spain) has been developed consisting in a black box provided with 4 holes of 12 mm diameter in which each hole white warm of a LEDof 1 W is emitted. Thus, each LEDs dose is controlled independently and the device allows establishing, as well as for UVB and UVA normal protocols a MUD also under visible light. In that case, maximal visible light dose is reached in less than 5 min compared to 15 min under exposure to slight projector. All patients were positive to LED warm visible light with presence of erythema and / or wheals in parallel to the exposure to the slight projector. A MUD to visible light has been established with significant variations between patients which reveals different grade to visible light sensibilization. In conclusion, a new technology of illumination based in LEDs can be used in photodiagnosis of SU.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Two-dimensional mineral dust radiative effect calculations from CALIPSO observations over Europe

A demonstration study to examine the feasibility of retrieving dust radiative effects based on combined satellite data from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) and CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) lidar vertical profiles along their orbit is presented. The GAME (Global Atmospheric Model) radiative transfer model is used to estimate the shortwave and longwave dust radiative effects below the CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite) orbit assuming an aerosol parameterization based on the CALIOP vertical distribution at a horizontal resolution of 5¿km and additional AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) data. Two study cases are analyzed: a strong long-range transport mineral dust event (aerosol optical depth, AOD, of 0.52) that originated in the Sahara Desert and reached the United Kingdom and a weaker event (AOD¿=¿0.16) that affected eastern Europe. The radiative fluxes obtained are first validated in terms of radiative efficiency at a single point with space–time colocated lidar ground-based measurements from EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) stations below the orbit. The methodology is then applied to the full orbit. The strong dependence of the radiative effects on the aerosol load (and to a lesser extent on the surface albedo) highlights the need for accurate AOD measurements for radiative studies. The calculated dust radiative effects and heating rates below the orbits are in good agreement with previous studies of mineral dust, with the radiative efficiency obtained at the surface ranging between -80.3 and -63.0¿W¿m-2 for lower dust concentration event and -119.1 and -79.3¿W¿m-2 for the strong event. Thus, results demonstrate the validity of the method presented here to retrieve 2-D accurate radiative properties with large spatial and temporal coverage.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Tropospheric water vapour and relative humidity profiles from lidar and microwave radiometry

In this paper, we outline an iterative method to calibrate the water vapour mixing ratio profiles retrieved from Raman lidar measurements. Simultaneous and co-located radiosonde data are used for this purpose and the calibration results obtained during a radiosonde campaign in summer and autumn 2011 are presented. The water vapour profiles measured during night-time by the Raman lidar and radiosondes are compared and the differences between the methodologies are discussed. Then, a new approach to obtain relative humidity profiles by combination of simultaneous profiles of temperature (retrieved from a microwave radiometer) and water vapour mixing ratio (from a Raman lidar) is addressed. In the last part of this work, a statistical analysis of water vapour mixing ratio and relative humidity profiles obtained during 1 year of simultaneous measurements is presented.This work was supported by the Andalusian Regional Government through projects P12-RNM-2409 and P10-RNM-6299, by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology through projects CGL2010-18782, CSD2007-00067, CGL2011-13580-E/CLI and CGL2011-16124-E; and by the EU through the ACTRIS project (EU INFRA-2010-1.1.16-262254)

Optical porperties of free tropospheric aerosol from multi-wavelength raman lidars over the southern Iberian Peninsula

Two cases of free tropospheric aerosol layers observed with multi-wavelength Raman lidars over Évora (Portugal) and Granada (Spain) were investigated. Optical properties, both, columnar and vertically-resolved, of a forest fire smoke plume from North America on 13 June 2011, and of mineral dust layers on 27 June 2011 are presented. The aerosol optical depth and Ångström exponents derived from lidar data were compared to sun photometer measurements. The aerosol optical depth at 355 nm of the free tropospheric smoke layers were about 25 to 30% of the columnar aerosol optical depth found from sun photometer measurements at both sites. The lidar ratio at 355 nm was 46±14 sr and 48±16 sr, over Évora and Granada, espectively. The lidar ratio at 532 nm over Évora was 66±19 sr. The investigation of the dust plume showed larger differences in the aerosol optical properties observed at the two sites. This was due to different transportation paths and intrusion of other aerosol types, namely anthropogenic and marine aerosols.The authors want to acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Sciences and Technology FCT for grant SFRH/BD/47521/2008 and projects REDE/1527/RNG/ 2007 and PTDC/CTE-ATM/65307/2006. This work was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology through projects CGL2010-18782, CSD2007-00067 and CGL2011-13580-E/CLI as well as by the EU through the ACTRIS project (EUINFRA-2010-1.1.16-262254)

Vertical characterization of fine and coarse dust particles during an intense Saharan dust outbreak over the Iberian Peninsula in springtime 2021

An intense and long-lasting Saharan dust outbreak crossed the Iberian Peninsula (IP) from the southwest (SW) to the northeast (NE) from 25 March until 7 April 2021. This work aims to assess the optical and mass contribution of both fine and coarse dust particles along their transport. Five Iberian lidar stations were monitoring the transport and evolution of the Saharan dust particles, i.e. El Arenosillo/Huelva, Granada, Torrejon/Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, and evora in Portugal. The particular meteorological conditions determined the aerosol scenario along the overall dust event, differing in the first part of the event (25-31 March), in which the strongest dust incidence occurred on 29-31 March at the south and central stations and 1 April at Barcelona, from the second one (1-7 April). The use of the two-step POLIPHON algorithm showed the relevance of using polarized lidar measurements for separating the aerosol properties of dust fine and coarse particles as an added value. Both the fine dust (Df) and coarse dust (Dc) components of the total particle backscatter coefficient (total dust, DD = Dc + Df) were separately derived. The dust plume was well-mixed with height and no significant differences were found in the vertical structure of both the Dc and Df particle backscatter coefficients. From the beginning of the dust outbreak until 1 April, the vertical Df / DD mass ratio was nearly constant in time at each station and also in altitude with values of & SIM; 10 %. Moreover, the mean dust optical depth at 532 nm was decreasing along that dust pathway, reporting values from SW to NE stations of 0.34 at El Arenosillo/Huelva, 0.28 at Granada, 0.20 at evora, 0.28 at Torrejon/Madrid, and 0.14 at Barcelona, although its Df / DD ratio remained almost constant (28 %-30 %). A similar pattern was found for the total dust mass loading and its Df / DD ratio, i.e. mostly decreasing mean mass values were reported, being constant in its Df / DD ratio (& SIM; 10 %) along the SW-NE dust pathway. In addition, the episode-mean centre-of-mass height increased with latitude overall, showing a high variability, being greater than 0.5 km at the southern sites (El Arenosillo/Huelva, Granada, evora) and & SIM; 1.0 km at Torrejon/Madrid and Barcelona. However, despite the relatively high intensity of the dust intrusion, the expected ageing of the dust particles was hardly observed, by taking into account the minor changes found in the contribution and properties of the coarse and fine dust particles. This is on the basis that the IP is relatively close to the Saharan dust sources and then, under certain dust transport conditions, any potential ageing processes in the dust particles remained unappreciated. The following must be highlighted: the different relative contribution of the fine dust particles to the total dust found for their optical properties (& SIM; 30 %) associated with the radiative effect of dust, with respect to that for the mass features (& SIM; 10 %) linked to air quality issues, along the overall dust event by crossing the IP.Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain (MICINN) Spanish Government PID2019-104205GB-C21/AEI/10.13039/50110001103

Lidar and Radar Signal Simulation: Stability Assessment of the Aerosol–Cloud Interaction Index

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through projects CGL2016-81092-R, PID2020-120015RB-I00 and RTI2018-101154-A-I00, the Regional Government of Andalusia through project AEROPRE (P18-RT-3820), and by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports and Spanish Ministry of universities through grant FPU19/05340. The financial support for EARLINET in the ACTRIS.IMP 871115 (H2020-INFRADEV-2018-2020) is gratefully acknowledged. This work is related to activities within the COST Action CA18235 PROBE (PROfiling the atmospheric Boundary layer at European scale). The authors thank the University of Granada, Programa Operativo FEDER Andalucia 2014-2020 through project DEM3TRIOS (A-RNM-430-UGR20). Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda received funding from the Marie Skodowska-Curie Action Cofund 2016 EU project-Athenea3i under grant agreement no. 754446. Maria J. Granados-Munoz project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skodowska-Curie grant agreement No 796539. The financial support for UGR and FEDER funds through project B-RNM-496-UGR18 is gratefully acknowledged.Aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI) are in the spotlight of atmospheric science since the limited knowledge about these processes produces large uncertainties in climate predictions. These interactions can be quantified by the aerosol-cloud interaction index (ACI index), which establishes a relationship between aerosol and cloud microphysics. The experimental determination of the ACI index through a synergistic combination of lidar and cloud radar is still quite challenging due to the difficulties in disentangling the aerosol influence on cloud formation from other processes and in retrieving aerosol-particle and cloud microphysics from remote sensing measurements. For a better understanding of the ACI and to evaluate the optimal experimental conditions for the measurement of these processes, a Lidar and Radar Signal Simulator (LARSS) is presented. LARSS simulate vertically-resolved lidar and cloud-radar signals during the formation process of a convective cloud, from the aerosol hygroscopic enhancement to the condensation droplet growth. Through LARSS simulations, it is observed a dependence of the ACI index with height, associated with the increase in number (ACINd) and effective radius (ACIreff) of the droplets with altitude. Furthermore, ACINd and ACIreff for several aerosol types (such as ammonium sulfate, biomass burning, and dust) are estimated using LARSS, presenting different values as a function of the aerosol model. Minimum ACINd values are obtained when the activation of new droplets stops, while ACIreff reaches its maximum values several meters above. These simulations are carried out considering standard atmospheric conditions, with a relative humidity of 30% at the surface, reaching the supersaturation of the air mass at 3500 m. To assess the stability of the ACI index, a sensitivity study using LARSS is performed. It is obtained that the dry modal aerosol radius presents a strong influence on the ACI index fluctuations of 18% cause an ACI variability of 30% while the updraft velocity within the cloud and the wet modal aerosol radius have a weaker impact. LARSS ACI index uncertainty is obtained through the Monte Carlo technique, obtaining ACIreff uncertainty below 16% for the uncertainty of all LARSS input parameters of 10%. Finally, a new ACI index is introduced in this study, called the remote-sensing ACI index (ACIRs), to simplify the quantification of the ACI processes with remote sensors. This new index presents a linear relationship with the ACIreff, which depends on the Angstrom exponent. The use of ACIRs to derive ACIreff presents the advantage that it is possible to quantify the aerosol-cloud interaction without the need to perform microphysical inversion retrievals, thus reducing the uncertainty sources.Spanish Government CGL2016-81092-R PID2020-120015RB-I00 RTI2018-101154-A-I00Junta de Andalucia P18-RT-3820Spanish Government FPU19/05340EARLINET in the ACTRIS.IMP 871115University of Granada, Programa Operativo FEDER Andalucia through project DEM3TRIOS A-RNM-430-UGR20European Commission 754446 796539UGREuropean Commission B-RNM-496-UGR1

Evaluation of LIRIC Algorithm Performance Using Independent Sun-Sky Photometer Data at Two Altitude Levels

The authors thank the FEDER program for the instrumentation used in this work and the University of Granada for supporting this study through the Excellence Units Program “Plan Propio. Programa23 Convocatoria 2017”. CIMEL Calibration was performed at the AERONET-EUROPE calibration center, supported by ACTRIS. We also express our gratitude to the developers of the LIRIC algorithm and software. The authors thank Sierra Nevada National Park for support in the maintenance of the Sun-sky photometer station at Cerro Poyos. Maria J. Granados-Muñoz is funded by a Maria Sklodowska-Curie IF under grant agreement no. 796539. Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda and Antonio Valenzuela received funding from the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action Cofund 2016 EU project Athenea3i under grant agreement no. 754446. Jose Antonio Benavent-Oltra is funded by the University of Granada through “Plan Propio. Programa 7, Convocatoria 2019”. This work was also supported by the Ambizione program of the Swiss National Science Foundation (project no. PZ00P2 168114).This work evaluates the Lidar-Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) using sun-sky photometers located at different altitudes in the same atmospheric column. Measurements were acquired during an intensive observational period in summer 2012 at Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network (ACTRIS)/Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Granada (GRA; 37.16◦N, 3.61◦W, 680 m above sea level (a.s.l.)) and Cerro Poyos (CP; 37.11◦N, 3.49◦W, 1820 m a.s.l.) sites. Both stations operated AERONET sun-photometry, with an additional lidar system operating at Granada station. The extended database of simultaneous lidar and sun-photometry measurements from this study allowed the statistical analysis of vertically resolved microphysical properties retrieved with LIRIC, with 70% of the analyzed cases corresponding to mineral dust. Consequently, volume concentration values were 46 µm3 /cm3 on average, with a value of ~30 µm3 /cm3 corresponding to the coarse spheroid mode and concentrations below 10 µm3 /cm3 for the fine and coarse spherical modes. According to the microphysical properties’ profiles, aerosol particles reached altitudes up to 6000 m a.s.l., as observed in previous studies over the same region. Results obtained from comparing the LIRIC retrievals from GRA and from CP revealed good agreement between both stations with differences within the expected uncertainties associated with LIRIC (15%). However, larger discrepancies were found for 10% of the cases, mostly due to the incomplete overlap of the lidar signal and/or to the influence of different aerosol layers advected from the local origin located between both stations, which is particularly important in cases of low aerosol loads. Nevertheless, the results presented here demonstrate the robustness and self-consistency of LIRIC and consequently its applicability to large databases such as those derived from ACTRIS-European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) observations.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through projects CGL2016-81092-R, and CGL2017-83538-C3-1-R; the Excellence network CGL2017-90884-REDT; by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through ACTRIS project (grant agreement n. 654169)

Characterization of Tajogaite volcanic plumes detected over the Iberian Peninsula from a set of satellite and ground-based remote sensing instrumentation

Three volcanic plumes were detected during the Tajogaite volcano eruptive activity (Canary Islands, Spain, September–December 2021) over the Iberian Peninsula. The spatiotemporal evolution of these events is characterised by combining passive satellite remote sensing and ground-based lidar and sun-photometer systems. The inversion algorithm GRASP is used with a suite of ground-based remote sensing instruments such as lidar/ceilometer and sun-photometer from eight sites at different locations throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Satellite observations showed that the volcanic ash plumes remained nearby the Canary Islands covering a mean area of 120 ± 202 km2 during the whole period of eruptive activity and that sulphur dioxide plumes reached the Iberian Peninsula. Remote sensing observations showed that the three events were mainly composed of sulphates, which were transported from the volcano into the free troposphere. The high backscatter-related Ångström exponents for wavelengths 532–1064 nm (1.17 ± 0.20 to 1.40 ± 0.24) and low particle depolarization ratios (0.08 ± 0.02 to 0.09 ± 0.02), measured by the multi-wavelength Raman lidar, hinted at the presence of spherical small particles. The layer aerosol optical depth at 532 nm (AODL532) obtained from lidar measurements contributed between 49% and 82% to the AERONET total column AOD at 532 nm in event II (11–13 October). According to the GRASP retrievals, the layer aerosol optical depth at 440 nm (AODL440) was higher in all sites during event II with values between 0.097 (Badajoz) and 0.233 (Guadiana-UGR) and lower in event III (19–21 October) varying between 0.003 (Granada) and 0.026 (Évora). Compared with the GRASP retrievals of total column AOD at 440 nm, the AODL440 had contributions between 21% and 52% during event II. In the event I (25–28 September), the mean volume concentrations (VC) varied between 5 ± 4 μm3cm−3 (El-Arenosillo/Huelva) and 17 ± 10 μm3cm−3 (Guadiana-UGR), while in event II this variation was from 11 ± 7 μm3cm−3 (Badajoz) to 27 ± 10 μm3cm−3 (Guadiana-UGR). Due to the impact of volcanic events on atmospheric and economic fields, such as radiative forcing and airspace security, a proper characterization is required. This work undertakes it using advanced instrumentation and methods.PROBE Cost Action - NASA Ra-diation Sciences Program and Earth Observing System UIDB/04683/2020National funds through FCT -Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, I.P., in the framework of the ICT project UIDB/04683/2020 UIDP/04683/2020TOMA-QAPA PTDC/CTAMET/29678/2017GRASP-ACE 778349ACTRIS-IMP 871115ATMO-ACCESS 101008004PROBE CA18235HARMONIA CA21119EUMETNET through the E-PROFILE program and REALISTIC 101086690ACTRIS-2 654109Spanish Government PID2019-103886RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033NTEGRATYON3 PID2020-117825GB-C21 PID2020-117825GB- C22ELPIS PID2020-120015RB-I00CLARIN CGL2016-81092-REPOLAAR RTI2018-097864-B-I00CAMELIA PID2019-104205GB- C21/AEI/10.13039/501100011033ACTRIS-Espa ~na CGL2017- 90884REDTUniversity of Granada Plan Propio through Singular Laboratory LS2022-1Andalusia Autonomous Government projects AEROPRE and ADAPNE P18-RT-3820 P20_00136UGR-FEDER projects DEM3TRIOS A-RNM-524-UGR20MOGATRACO UCE-PP2017-02Scientific Units of Excellence Program RTI 2018-097332-B-C22R+D+i grant MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/ 501100011033ERDF A Way of Doing EuropeINTA predoctoral contract program A-RNM-430-UGR2

Statistical validation of Aeolus L2A particle backscatter coefficient retrievals over ACTRIS/EARLINET stations on the Iberian Peninsula

The Global Observing System (GOS) has encountered some limitations due to a lack of worldwide real-time wind measurements. In this context, the European Space Agency (ESA) has developed the Aeolus satellite mission, based on the ALADIN (Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument) Doppler wind lidar; this mission aims to obtain near-real-time wind retrievals at the global scale. As spin-off products, the instrument retrieves aerosol optical properties such as particle backscatter and extinction coefficients. In this work, a validation of Aeolus reprocessed (baseline 10) co-polar backscatter coefficients ( part Aeolus) is presented through an intercomparison with analogous ground-based measurements taken at the ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network)/EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) stations of Granada (Spain), Évora (Portugal) and Barcelona (Spain) over the period from July 2019 until October 2020. Case studies are first presented, followed by a statistical analysis. The stations are located in a hot spot between Africa and the rest of Europe, which guarantees a variety of aerosol types, from mineral dust layers to continental/anthropogenic aerosol, and allows us to test Aeolus performance under different scenarios. The so called Aeolus-like profiles ( part Aeolus like;355) are obtained from total particle backscatter coefficient and linear particle depolarization ratio ( part linear) profiles at 355 and 532 nm measured from the surface, through a thorough bibliographic review of dual-polarization measurements for relevant aerosol types. Finally, the study proposes a relation for the spectral conversion of part linear, which is implemented in the Aeolus-like profile calculation. The statistical results show the ability of the satellite to detect and characterize significant aerosol layers under cloud-free conditions, along with the surface effect on the lowermost measurements, which causes the satellite to largely overestimate copolar backscatter coefficients. Finally, the Aeolus standard correct algorithm middle bin (SCAmb) shows a better agreement with ground-based measurements than the standard correct algorithm (SCA), which tends to retrieve negative and meaningless coefficients in the clear troposphere. The implementation of Aeolus quality flags entails a vast reduction in the number of measurements available for comparison, which affects the statistical significance of the results