Correction of Doppler-broadened Rayleigh backscattering effects in H2O dial measurements

A general method of solutions for treating effects of Doppler-broadened Rayleigh backscattering in H2O Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) measurements are described and discussed. Errors in vertical DIAL measuremtns caused by this laser line broadening effect can be very large and, therfore, this effect has to be accounted for accurately. To analyze and correct effects of Doppler-broadened Rayleigh backscattering in DIAL experiments, a generalized DIAL approximation was derived starting from a lidar equation, which includes Doppler broadening. To evaluate the accuracy of H2O DIAL measurements, computer simulations were performed. It was concluded that correction of Doppler broadened Rayleigh backscattering is possible with good accuracy in most cases of tropospheric H2O DIAL measurements, but great care has to be taken when layers with steep gradients of Mie backscattering like clouds or inversion layers are present

Profiling of fine and coarse particle mass : Case studies of Saharan dust and Eyjafjallajökull/Grimsvötn volcanic plumes

© Author(s) 2012. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 LicenseThe polarization lidar photometer networking (POLIPHON) method introduced to separate coarse-mode and fine-mode particle properties of Eyjafjallajokull volcanic aerosols in 2010 is extended to cover Saharan dust events as well. Furthermore, new volcanic dust observations performed after the Grimsvotn volcanic eruptions in 2011 are presented. The retrieval of particle mass concentrations requires mass-specific extinction coefficients. Therefore, a review of recently published mass-specific extinction coefficients for Saharan dust and volcanic dust is given. Case studies of four different scenarios corroborate the applicability of the profiling technique: (a) Saharan dust outbreak to central Europe, (b) Saharan dust plume mixed with biomass-burning smoke over Cape Verde, and volcanic aerosol layers originating from (c) the Eyjafjallajokull eruptions in 2010 and (d) the Grimsvotn eruptions in 2011. Strong differences in the vertical aerosol layering, aerosol mixing, and optical properties are observed for the different volcanic eventsPeer reviewe

Temperature dependence of coherent oscillations in Josephson phase qubits

We experimentally investigate the temperature dependence of Rabi oscillations and Ramsey fringes in superconducting phase qubits driven by microwave pulses. In a wide range of temperatures, we find that both the decay time and the amplitude of these coherent oscillations remain nearly unaffected by thermal fluctuations. The oscillations are observed well above the crossover temperature from thermally activated escape to quantum tunneling for undriven qubits. In the two-level limit, coherent qubit response rapidly vanishes as soon as the energy of thermal fluctuations kT becomes larger than the energy level spacing of the qubit. Our observations shed new light on the origin of decoherence in superconducting qubits. The experimental data suggest that, without degrading already achieved coherence times, phase qubits can be operated at temperatures much higher than those reported till now.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Estimated desert-dust ice nuclei profiles from polarization lidar: Methodology and case studies

A lidar method is presented that permits the estimation of height profiles of ice nuclei concentrations (INC) in desert dust layers. The polarization lidar technique is applied to separate dust and non-dust backscatter and extinction coefficients. The desert dust extinction coefficients σd are then converted to aerosol particle number concentrations APC280 which consider particles with radius > 280 nm only. By using profiles of APC280 and ambient temperature T along the laser beam, the profile of INC can be estimated within a factor of 3 by means of APC-T-INC parameterizations from the literature. The observed close relationship between σd at 500 nm and APC280 is of key importance for a successful INC retrieval. We studied this link by means of AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) sun/sky photometer observations at Morocco, Cabo Verde, Barbados, and Cyprus during desert dust outbreaks. The new INC retrieval method is applied to lidar observations of dust layers with the spaceborne lidar CALIOP (Cloud Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) during two overpasses over the EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) lidar site of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), Limassol (34.7° N, 33° E), Cyprus. The good agreement between the CALIOP and CUT lidar retrievals of σd, APC280, and INC profiles corroborates the potential of CALIOP to provide 3-D global desert dust APC280 and INC data sets

Fine and coarse dust separation with polarization lidar

The polarization-lidar photometer networking (POLIPHON) method for separating dust and non-dust aerosol backscatter and extinction, volume, and mass concentration is extended to allow for a height-resolved separation of fine-mode and coarse-mode dust properties in addition. The method is applied to a period with complex aerosol layering of fine-mode background dust from Turkey and Arabian desert dust from Syria. The observation was performed at the combined European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) site of Limassol (34.7° N, 33° E), Cyprus, in September 2011. The dust profiling methodology and case studies are presented. Consistency between the column-integrated optical properties obtained with sun/sky photometer and the respective results derived by means of the new lidar-based method corroborate the applicability of the extended POLIPHON version

Evaluation of the Lidar/Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) to determine microphysical properties of volcanic and desert dust

© Author(s) 2013. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 LicenseThe Lidar/Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) combines the multiwavelength lidar technique with sun/sky photometry and allows us to retrieve vertical profiles of particle optical and microphysical properties separately for fine-mode and coarse-mode particles. After a brief presentation of the theoretical background, we evaluate the potential of LIRIC to retrieve the optical and microphysical properties of irregularly shaped dust particles. The method is applied to two very different aerosol scenarios: a strong Saharan dust outbreak towards central Europe and an Eyjafjallajökull volcanic dust event. LIRIC profiles of particle mass concentrations for the coarse-mode as well as for the non-spherical particle fraction are compared with results for the non-spherical particle fraction as obtained with the polarization-lidar- based POLIPHON method. Similar comparisons for fine-mode and spherical particle fractions are presented also. Acceptable agreement between the different dust mass concentration profiles is obtained. LIRIC profiles of optical properties such as particle backscatter coefficient, lidar ratio, Ångström exponent, and particle depolarization ratio are compared with direct Raman lidar observations. Systematic deviations between the LIRIC retrieval products and the Raman lidar measurements of the desert dust lidar ratio, depolarization ratio, and spectral dependencies of particle backscatter and lidar ratio point to the applied spheroidal-particle model as main source for these uncertainties in the LIRIC results.Peer reviewe

Continuous monitoring of the boundary-layer top with lidar

International audienceContinuous lidar observations of the top height of the boundary layer (BL top) have been performed at Leipzig (51.3° N, 12.4° E), Germany, since August 2005. The results of measurements taken with a compact, automated Raman lidar over a one-year period (February 2006 to January 2007) are presented. Four different methods for the determination of the BL top are discussed. The most promising technique, the wavelet covariance algorithm, is improved by implementing some modifications so that an automated, robust retrieval of BL depths from lidar data is possible. Three case studies of simultaneous observations with the Raman lidar, a vertical-wind Doppler lidar, and accompanying radiosonde profiling of temperature and humidity are discussed to demonstrate the potential and the limits of the four lidar techniques at different aerosol and meteorological conditions. The lidar-derived BL top heights are compared with respective values derived from predictions of the regional weather forecast model COSMO of the German Meteorological Service. The comparison shows a general underestimation of the BL top by about 20% by the model. The statistical analysis of the one-year data set reveals that the seasonal mean of the daytime maximum BL top is 1400 m in spring, 1800 m in summer, 1200 m in autumn, and 800 m in winter at the continental, central European site. BL top typically increases by 100?300 m per hour in the morning of convective days

Strong aerosol-cloud interaction in altocumulus during updraft periods: Lidar observations over central Europe

For the first time, a liquid-water cloud study of the aerosol–cloud-dynamics relationship, solely based on lidar, was conducted. Twenty-nine cases of pure liquid-water altocumulus layers were observed with a novel dual-field-of-view Raman lidar over the polluted central European site of Leipzig, Germany, between September 2010 and September 2012. By means of the novel Raman lidar technique, cloud properties such as the droplet effective radius and cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) in the lower part of altocumulus layers are obtained. The conventional aerosol Raman lidar technique provides the aerosol extinction coefficient (used as aerosol proxy) below cloud base. A collocated Doppler lidar measures the vertical velocity at cloud base and thus updraft and downdraft occurrence. Here, we present the key results of our statistical analysis of the 2010–2012 observations. Besides a clear aerosol effect on cloud droplet number concentration in the lower part of the altocumulus layers during updraft periods, turbulent mixing and entrainment of dry air is assumed to be the main reason for the found weak correlation between aerosol proxy and CDNC higher up in the cloud. The corresponding aerosol–cloud interaction parameter based on changes in cloud droplet number concentration with aerosol loading was found to be close to 0.8 at 30–70 m above cloud base during updraft periods and below 0.4 when ignoring vertical-wind information in the analysis. Our findings are extensively compared with literature values and agree well with airborne observations

Thermodynamics of the formation of sulfuric acid dimers in the binary (H2SO4-H2O) and ternary (H2SO4-H2O-NH3) system

Sulfuric acid is an important gas influencing atmospheric new particle formation (NPF). Both the binary (H2SO4–H2O) system and the ternary system involving ammonia (H2SO4–H2O–NH3) may be important in the free troposphere. An essential step in the nucleation of aerosol particles from gas-phase precursors is the formation of a dimer, so an understanding of the thermodynamics of dimer formation over a wide range of atmospheric conditions is essential to describe NPF. We have used the CLOUD chamber to conduct nucleation experiments for these systems at temperatures from 208 to 248 K. Neutral monomer and dimer concentrations of sulfuric acid were measured using a chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS). From these measurements, dimer evaporation rates in the binary system were derived for temperatures of 208 and 223 K. We compare these results to literature data from a previous study that was conducted at higher temperatures but is in good agreement with the present study. For the ternary system the formation of H2SO4·NH3 is very likely an essential step in the formation of sulfuric acid dimers, which were measured at 210, 223, and 248 K. We estimate the thermodynamic properties (dH and dS) of the H2SO4·NH3 cluster using a simple heuristic model and the measured data. Furthermore, we report the first measurements of large neutral sulfuric acid clusters containing as many as 10 sulfuric acid molecules for the binary system using chemical ionization–atmospheric pressure interface time-of-flight (CI-APi-TOF) mass spectrometry

Strong aerosol-cloud interaction in altocumulus during updraft periods: Lidar observations over central Europe

For the first time, a liquid-water cloud study of the aerosol–cloud-dynamics relationship, solely based on lidar, was conducted. Twenty-nine cases of pure liquid-water altocumulus layers were observed with a novel dual-field-of-view Raman lidar over the polluted central European site of Leipzig, Germany, between September 2010 and September 2012. By means of the novel Raman lidar technique, cloud properties such as the droplet effective radius and cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) in the lower part of altocumulus layers are obtained. The conventional aerosol Raman lidar technique provides the aerosol extinction coefficient (used as aerosol proxy) below cloud base. A collocated Doppler lidar measures the vertical velocity at cloud base and thus updraft and downdraft occurrence. Here, we present the key results of our statistical analysis of the 2010–2012 observations. Besides a clear aerosol effect on cloud droplet number concentration in the lower part of the altocumulus layers during updraft periods, turbulent mixing and entrainment of dry air is assumed to be the main reason for the found weak correlation between aerosol proxy and CDNC higher up in the cloud. The corresponding aerosol–cloud interaction parameter based on changes in cloud droplet number concentration with aerosol loading was found to be close to 0.8 at 30–70 m above cloud base during updraft periods and below 0.4 when ignoring vertical-wind information in the analysis. Our findings are extensively compared with literature values and agree well with airborne observations