Articles | Volume 18, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14555-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14555-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Assessment of Sun photometer Langley calibration at the high-elevation sites Mauna Loa and Izaña
Group of Atmospheric Optics, University of Valladolid (GOA-UVa), Valladolid, Spain
Ramiro González
Group of Atmospheric Optics, University of Valladolid (GOA-UVa), Valladolid, Spain
David Fuertes
Group of Atmospheric Optics, University of Valladolid (GOA-UVa), Valladolid, Spain
GRASP-SAS, Lille, France
Emilio Cuevas
Izaña Atmospheric Research Center, Meteorological State Agency of Spain (AEMET), Tenerife, Spain
Thomas F. Eck
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, USA
Stelios Kazadzis
Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Centre – PMOD/WRC, Davos, Switzerland
Natalia Kouremeti
Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Centre – PMOD/WRC, Davos, Switzerland
Julian Gröbner
Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Centre – PMOD/WRC, Davos, Switzerland
Philippe Goloub
Laboratory of Atmospheric Optics, University of Lille, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France
Luc Blarel
Laboratory of Atmospheric Optics, University of Lille, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France
Roberto Román
Group of Atmospheric Optics, University of Valladolid (GOA-UVa), Valladolid, Spain
África Barreto
Cimel Electronique, Paris, France
Izaña Atmospheric Research Center, Meteorological State Agency of Spain (AEMET), Tenerife, Spain
Group of Atmospheric Optics, University of Valladolid (GOA-UVa), Valladolid, Spain
Alberto Berjón
Group of Atmospheric Optics, University of Valladolid (GOA-UVa), Valladolid, Spain
Brent N. Holben
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Victoria E. Cachorro
Group of Atmospheric Optics, University of Valladolid (GOA-UVa), Valladolid, Spain
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
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Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 7177–7186, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7177-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7177-2025, 2025
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Nikolaos Papadimitriou, Ilias Fountoulakis, Antonis Gkikas, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Andreas Kazantzidis, Stelios Kazadzis, Stefan Pfenninger, John Kapsomenakis, Kostas Eleftheratos, Athanassios A. Argiriou, Lionel Doppler, and Christos S. Zerefos
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Ilias Fountoulakis, Kyriaki Papachristopoulou, Stelios Kazadzis, Gregor Hülsen, Julian Gröbner, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Dimitra Kouklaki, Akriti Masoom, Natalia Kouremeti, Charalampos Kontoes, and Christos S. Zerefos
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Benjamin Torres, Luc Blarel, Philippe Goloub, Gaël Dubois, Maria Fernanda Sanchez-Barrero, Ioana Elisabeta Popovici, Fabrice Maupin, Elena Lind, Alexander Smirnov, Ilya Slutsker, Julien Chimot, Ramiro González, Michaël Sicard, Jean Marc Metzger, and Pierre Tulet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 4809–4838, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4809-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4809-2025, 2025
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Xinyuan Hou, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 4543–4557, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4543-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4543-2025, 2025
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Sara Herrero-Anta, Sabine Eckhardt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Stefania Gilardoni, Sandra Graßl, Dominic Heslin-Rees, Stelios Kazadzis, Natalia Kouremeti, Radovan Krejci, David Mateos, Mauro Mazzola, Christoph Ritter, Roberto Román, Kerstin Stebel, and Tymon Zielinski
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3423, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3423, 2025
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In summer 2019, unusually high aerosol levels were measured in the Arctic, linked to wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and anthropogenic pollution. Using various instruments and models, we traced their origins and found good agreement between methods. The particles were mostly non-absorbing, but still we found a reduction of the solar radiation reaching the surface. This study shows that combining different measurements improves our understanding of how distant events affect the Arctic climate.
Simone Pulimeno, Angelo Lupi, Vito Vitale, Claudia Frangipani, Carlos Toledano, Stelios Kazadzis, Natalia Kouremeti, Christoph Ritter, Sandra Graßl, Kerstin Stebel, Vitali Fioletov, Ihab Abboud, Sandra Blindheim, Lynn Ma, Norm O’Neill, Piotr Sobolewski, Pawan Gupta, Elena Lind, Thomas F. Eck, Antti Hyvärinen, Veijo Aaltonen, Rigel Kivi, Janae Csavina, Dmitry Kabanov, Sergey M. Sakerin, Olga R. Sidorova, Robert S. Stone, Hagen Telg, Laura Riihimaki, Raul R. Cordero, Martin Radenz, Ronny Engelmann, Michel Van Roozendal, Anatoli Chaikovsky, Philippe Goloub, Junji Hisamitsu, and Mauro Mazzola
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2527, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2527, 2025
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David Mateos, Carlos Toledano, Abel Calle, Roberto Román, Marcos Herreras-Giralda, Ramiro González, Sara Herrero-Anta, Daniel González-Fernández, Celia Herrero-del Barrio, Argyro Nisantzi, Silke Gross, Victoria E. Cachorro, Ángel M. de Frutos, and Bernadett Weinzierl
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3577, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3577, 2025
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The A-LIFE experiment deployed in Cyprus included two sun photometers of AERONET network in two different sites. Mineral dust was predominant during the experiment, with Saharan and Arabian dust showing distinct optical properties, in particular, the Angstrom Exponent in the near-infrarred range and Volume Efficiency factor. Both magnitudes can served as a reliable proxy for mineral dust typing. No significant black carbon presence was detected.
Abdulamid A. Fakoya, Jens Redemann, Pablo E. Saide, Lan Gao, Logan T. Mitchell, Calvin Howes, Amie Dobracki, Ian Chang, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Kristina Pistone, Samuel E. Leblanc, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, Arthur J. Sedlacek III, Thomas Eck, Brent Holben, Pawan Gupta, Elena Lind, Paquita Zuidema, Gregory Carmichael, and Connor J. Flynn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7879–7902, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7879-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7879-2025, 2025
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Tiny atmospheric particles from wildfire smoke impact the climate by interacting with sunlight and clouds, the extent of which is uncertain due to gaps in understanding how smoke changes over time. We developed a new method using remote sensing instruments to track how these particles evolve during atmospheric transport. Our results show that the ability of these particles to absorb sunlight increases as they travel. This discovery could help improve predictions of future climate scenarios.
Akriti Masoom, Stelios Kazadzis, Robin Lewis Modini, Martin Gysel-Beer, Julian Gröbner, Martine Collaud Coen, Francisco Navas-Guzman, Natalia Kouremeti, Benjamin Tobias Brem, Nora Kristina Nowak, Giovanni Martucci, Maxime Hervo, and Sophie Erb
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2755, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2755, 2025
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This article aims at providing details on the special aerosol properties observed during 2023 Canadian wildfire plume transport and exploring the synergism between remote sensing and in situ measurements for investigating the cause of the occurrence of the observations of special aerosol properties.
África Barreto, Francisco Quirós, Omaira E. García, Jorge Pereda-de-Pablo, Daniel González-Fernández, Andrés Bedoya-Velásquez, Michael Sicard, Carmen Córdoba-Jabonero, Marco Iarlori, Vincenzo Rizi, Nickolay Krotkov, Simon Carn, Reijo Roininen, Antonio J. Molina-Arias, A. Fernando Almansa, Óscar Álvarez-Losada, Carla Aramo, Juan José Bustos, Romain Ceolato, Adolfo Comerón, Alicia Felpeto, Rosa D. García, Pablo González-Sicilia, Yenny González, Pascal Hedelt, Miguel Hernández, María-Ángeles López-Cayuela, Diego Loyola, Stavros Meletlidis, Constantino Muñoz-Porcar, Ermanno Pietropaolo, Ramón Ramos, Alejandro Rodríguez-Gómez, Roberto Román, Pedro M. Romero-Campos, Martin Stuefer, Carlos Toledano, and Elsworth Welton
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3164, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3164, 2025
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This manuscript describes the instrumental coverage deployed during the Tajogaite eruption (19 September–25 December 2021) by the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), and other Spanish members of ACTRIS (Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure) to monitor its atmospheric impact. Two complementary methods provide consistent plume height data for future operational surveillance.
Roberto Román, Daniel González-Fernández, Juan Carlos Antuña-Sánchez, Celia Herrero del Barrio, Sara Herrero-Anta, África Barreto, Victoria E. Cachorro, Lionel Doppler, Ramiro González, Christoph Ritter, David Mateos, Natalia Kouremeti, Gustavo Copes, Abel Calle, María José Granados-Muñoz, Carlos Toledano, and Ángel M. de Frutos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2847–2875, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2847-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2847-2025, 2025
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This paper presents a novel technique to extract starlight signals from all-sky images and retrieve aerosol optical depth (AOD). It is validated against lunar photometry, showing a strong correlation between data series. This innovative approach will expand nocturnal AOD measurements to more locations, as all-sky cameras are a simpler and more cost-effective alternative to stellar and lunar photometers.
Zhenyu Zhang, Jing Li, Huizheng Che, Yueming Dong, Oleg Dubovik, Thomas Eck, Pawan Gupta, Brent Holben, Jhoon Kim, Elena Lind, Trailokya Saud, Sachchida Nand Tripathi, and Tong Ying
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4617–4637, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4617-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4617-2025, 2025
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We used ground-based remote sensing data from the Aerosol Robotic Network to examine long-term trends in aerosol characteristics. We found aerosol loadings generally decreased globally, and aerosols became more scattering. These changes are closely related to variations in aerosol compositions, such as decreased anthropogenic emissions over East Asia, Europe, and North America; increased anthropogenic sources over northern India; and increased dust activity over the Arabian Peninsula.
Jianglong Zhang, Jeffrey S. Reid, Blake T. Sorenson, Steven D. Miller, Miguel O. Román, Zhuosen Wang, Robert J. D. Spurr, Shawn Jaker, Thomas F. Eck, and Juli I. Rubin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1787–1810, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1787-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1787-2025, 2025
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Using observations from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite day–night band, we developed a method for constructing gridded nighttime aerosol optical thickness (AOT) data based on the spatial derivative of measured top-of-atmosphere attenuated upwelling artificial lights at night. The gridded nighttime AOT retrievals, compared against Aerosol Robotic Network data, show reasonable skill levels for potential data assimilation, air quality, and climate studies of significant events.
Anna Moustaka, Stelios Kazadzis, Emmanouil Proestakis, Anton Lopatin, Oleg Dubovik, Kleareti Tourpali, Christos Zerefos, Vassilis Amiridis, and Antonis Gkikas
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-888, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-888, 2025
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North Africa and the Middle East are home to the world’s most active dust sources, but accurately monitoring airborne dust remains challenging. We refine satellite-based dust retrievals by improving the lidar ratio, a key parameter in aerosol observations, using data from multiple sensors. Our findings reveal regional variations in dust optical depth (DOD), leading to improved climatological assessments. These results enhance climate models and air quality studies.
Silke Groß, Volker Freudenthaler, Moritz Haarig, Albert Ansmann, Carlos Toledano, David Mateos, Petra Seibert, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Argyro Nisantzi, Josef Gasteiger, Maximilian Dollner, Anne Tipka, Manuel Schöberl, Marilena Teri, and Bernadett Weinzierl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3191–3211, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3191-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3191-2025, 2025
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Aerosols contribute to the largest uncertainties in climate change predictions. The eastern Mediterranean is a hotspot for aerosols with natural and anthropogenic contributions. We present lidar measurements performed during A-LIFE (Absorbing aerosol layers in a changing climate: aging, lifetime and dynamics) to characterize aerosols and aerosol mixtures. We extend current lidar classification and separation schemes and compare them to classification schemes using different methods.
Angelos Karanikolas, Natalia Kouremeti, Monica Campanelli, Victor Estellés, Masahiro Momoi, Gaurav Kumar, Stephan Nyeki, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6085–6105, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6085-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6085-2024, 2024
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Different sun photometer networks use different instruments, post-processing algorithms and calibration protocols for aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieval. Such differences can affect the homogeneity and comparability of their measurements. In this study, we assess the homogeneity between the sun photometer networks GAW-PFR and SKYNET, analysing common measurements during three campaigns between 2017–2021, and investigate the main cause of the differences.
Myungje Choi, Alexei Lyapustin, Gregory L. Schuster, Sujung Go, Yujie Wang, Sergey Korkin, Ralph Kahn, Jeffrey S. Reid, Edward J. Hyer, Thomas F. Eck, Mian Chin, David J. Diner, Olga Kalashnikova, Oleg Dubovik, Jhoon Kim, and Hans Moosmüller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10543–10565, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10543-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10543-2024, 2024
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This paper introduces a retrieval algorithm to estimate two key absorbing components in smoke (black carbon and brown carbon) using DSCOVR EPIC measurements. Our analysis reveals distinct smoke properties, including spectral absorption, layer height, and black carbon and brown carbon, over North America and central Africa. The retrieved smoke properties offer valuable observational constraints for modeling radiative forcing and informing health-related studies.
Akriti Masoom, Stelios Kazadzis, Masimo Valeri, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Gabrielle Brizzi, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Francesca Barnaba, Stefano Casadio, Axel Kreuter, and Fabrizio Niro
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5525–5549, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5525-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5525-2024, 2024
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Aerosols, which have a wide impact on climate, radiative forcing, and human health, are widely represented by aerosol optical depth (AOD). AOD retrievals require Rayleigh scattering and atmospheric absorption (ozone, NO2, etc.) corrections. We analysed the NO2 (which has a high spatiotemporal variation) uncertainty impact on AOD retrievals using the synergy of co-located ground-based instruments with a long-term dataset at worldwide sites and found significant AOD over- or underestimations.
Monica Campanelli, Victor Estellés, Gaurav Kumar, Teruyuki Nakajima, Masahiro Momoi, Julian Gröbner, Stelios Kazadzis, Natalia Kouremeti, Angelos Karanikolas, Africa Barreto, Saulius Nevas, Kerstin Schwind, Philipp Schneider, Iiro Harju, Petri Kärhä, Henri Diémoz, Rei Kudo, Akihiro Uchiyama, Akihiro Yamazaki, Anna Maria Iannarelli, Gabriele Mevi, Annalisa Di Bernardino, and Stefano Casadio
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5029–5050, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5029-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5029-2024, 2024
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To retrieve columnar aerosol properties from sun photometers, some calibration factors are needed. The on-site calibrations, performed as frequently as possible to monitor changes in the machine conditions, allow operators to track and evaluate the calibration status on a continuous basis, reducing the data gaps incurred by the periodic shipments for performing centralized calibrations. The performance of the on-site calibration procedures was evaluated, providing very good results.
Peng Xian, Jeffrey S. Reid, Melanie Ades, Angela Benedetti, Peter R. Colarco, Arlindo da Silva, Tom F. Eck, Johannes Flemming, Edward J. Hyer, Zak Kipling, Samuel Rémy, Tsuyoshi Thomas Sekiyama, Taichu Tanaka, Keiya Yumimoto, and Jianglong Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6385–6411, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6385-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6385-2024, 2024
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The study compares and evaluates monthly AOD of four reanalyses (RA) and their consensus (i.e., ensemble mean). The basic verification characteristics of these RA versus both AERONET and MODIS retrievals are presented. The study discusses the strength of each RA and identifies regions where divergence and challenges are prominent. The RA consensus usually performs very well on a global scale in terms of how well it matches the observational data, making it a good choice for various applications.
Maria Fernanda Sanchez Barrero, Ioana Elisabeta Popovici, Philippe Goloub, Stephane Victori, Qiaoyun Hu, Benjamin Torres, Thierry Podvin, Luc Blarel, Gaël Dubois, Fabrice Ducos, Eric Bourrianne, Aliaksandr Lapionak, Lelia Proniewski, Brent Holben, David Matthew Giles, and Anthony LaRosa
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3121–3146, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3121-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3121-2024, 2024
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This study showcases the use of a compact elastic lidar to monitor aerosols aboard moving platforms. By coupling dual-wavelength and depolarization measurements with photometer data, we studied aerosols during events of Saharan dust and smoke transport. Our research, conducted in various scenarios, not only validated our methods but also offered insights into the atmospheric dynamics near active fires. This study aids future research to fill observational gaps in aerosol monitoring.
Ilias Fountoulakis, Alexandra Tsekeri, Stelios Kazadzis, Vassilis Amiridis, Angelos Nersesian, Maria Tsichla, Emmanouil Proestakis, Antonis Gkikas, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Vasileios Barlakas, Claudia Emde, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4915–4948, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4915-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4915-2024, 2024
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In our study we provide an assessment, through a sensitivity study, of the limitations of models to calculate the dust direct radiative effect (DRE) due to the underrepresentation of its size, refractive index (RI), and shape. Our results indicate the necessity of including more realistic sizes and RIs for dust particles in dust models, in order to derive better estimations of the dust direct radiative effects.
Karl Voglmeier, Voltaire A. Velazco, Luca Egli, Julian Gröbner, Alberto Redondas, and Wolfgang Steinbrecht
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2277–2294, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2277-2024, 2024
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Comparison between total ozone column (TOC) measurements from ground-based Dobson and Brewer spectrophotometers generally reveals seasonally varying differences of a few percent. This study recommends a new TOC retrieval approach, which effectively eliminates these seasonally varying differences by applying new ozone absorption cross sections, appropriate slit functions for the Dobson instrument, and climatological values for the effective ozone temperature.
Emilio Cuevas-Agulló, David Barriopedro, Rosa Delia García, Silvia Alonso-Pérez, Juan Jesús González-Alemán, Ernest Werner, David Suárez, Juan José Bustos, Gerardo García-Castrillo, Omaira García, África Barreto, and Sara Basart
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4083–4104, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4083-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4083-2024, 2024
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During February–March (FM) 2020–2022, unusually intense dust storms from northern Africa hit the western Euro-Mediterranean (WEM). Using dust products from satellites and atmospheric reanalysis for 2003–2022, results show that cut-off lows and European blocking are key drivers of FM dust intrusions over the WEM. A higher frequency of cut-off lows associated with subtropical ridges is observed in the late 2020–2022 period.
Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Ilias Fountoulakis, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Basil E. Psiloglou, Nikolaos Papadimitriou, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Andreas Kazantzidis, Charalampos Kontoes, Maria Hatzaki, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1851–1877, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1851-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1851-2024, 2024
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The upgraded systems SENSE2 and NextSENSE2 focus on improving the quality of solar nowcasting and forecasting. SENSE2 provides real-time estimates of solar irradiance across a wide region every 15 min. NextSENSE2 offers short-term forecasts of irradiance up to 3 h ahead. Evaluation with actual data showed that the instantaneous comparison yields the most discrepancies due to the uncertainties of cloud-related information and satellite versus ground-based spatial representativeness limitations.
Carlos Toledano, Sarah Taylor, África Barreto, Stefan Adriaensen, Alberto Berjón, Agnieszka Bialek, Ramiro González, Emma Woolliams, and Marc Bouvet
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3649–3671, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3649-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3649-2024, 2024
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The calibration of Earth observation sensors is key to ensuring the continuity of long-term and global climate records. Satellite sensors, calibrated prior to launch, are susceptible to degradation in space. The Moon provides a stable calibration reference; however, its illumination depends on the Sun–Earth–Moon geometry and must be modelled. A new lunar irradiance model is presented, built upon observations over 5 years at a high-altitude observatory and a rigorous calibration and validation.
Celia Herrero del Barrio, Roberto Román, Ramiro González, Alberto Cazorla, Marcos Herreras-Giralda, Juan Carlos Antuña-Sánchez, Francisco Molero, Francisco Navas-Guzmán, Antonio Serrano, María Ángeles Obregón, Yolanda Sola, Marco Pandolfi, Sara Herrero-Anta, Daniel González-Fernández, Jorge Muñiz-Rosado, David Mateos, Abel Calle, Carlos Toledano, Victoria Eugenia Cachorro, and Ángel Máximo de Frutos
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-581, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-581, 2024
Preprint withdrawn
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Introducing CAECENET, a novel system that combines sun-sky photometer and ceilometer data, enabling the continuous monitoring and automatic retrieval of both vertical and columnar aerosol properties in near real-time. A case study on a Saharan dust outbreak illustrates it's efficacy in tracking aerosol events. Additionally, the analysis of Canadian wildfires' long-range transport is presented, showing it's utility in monitoring event propagation, aerosol concentration, and optical properties.
Antonio Fernando Almansa, África Barreto, Natalia Kouremeti, Ramiro González, Akriti Masoom, Carlos Toledano, Julian Gröbner, Rosa Delia García, Yenny González, Stelios Kazadzis, Stéphane Victori, Óscar Álvarez, Fabrice Maupin, Virgilio Carreño, Victoria Eugenia Cachorro, and Emilio Cuevas
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 659–675, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-659-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-659-2024, 2024
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This paper applies sun photometer synergies to improve calibration transference between different sun photometers and also enhance their quality assurance and quality control. We have validated this technique using different instrumentation, the WMO-GAW and NASA-AERONET references, under different aerosol regimes using the standard Langley calibration method as a reference.
Óscar Alvárez, África Barreto, Omaira E. García, Frank Hase, Rosa D. García, Julian Gröbner, Sergio F. León-Luis, Eliezer Sepúlveda, Virgilio Carreño, Antonio Alcántara, Ramón Ramos, A. Fernando Almansa, Stelios Kazadzis, Noémie Taquet, Carlos Toledano, and Emilio Cuevas
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4861–4884, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4861-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4861-2023, 2023
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In this work, we have extended the capabilities of a portable Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) instrument, which was originally designed to provide high-quality greenhouse gas monitoring within COCCON (COllaborative Carbon Column Observing Network). The extension allows the spectrometer to now also provide coincidentally column-integrated aerosol information. This addition of a reference instrument to a global network will be utilised to enhance our understanding of atmospheric chemistry.
Verena Schenzinger, Axel Kreuter, Barbara Klotz, Michael Schwarzmann, and Julian Gröbner
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-188, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-188, 2023
Revised manuscript not accepted
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We present a fast an easy method to incorporate clouds from satellite imagery into a model for calculating surface UV index maps in near-real time. To judge the quality of the model, we compare our results to measurements from ground based detectors. We discuss in detail where variations in either of the values come from and why satellite and ground values might not necessarily be comparable in every situation.
Julian Gröbner, Natalia Kouremeti, Gregor Hülsen, Ralf Zuber, Mario Ribnitzky, Saulius Nevas, Peter Sperfeld, Kerstin Schwind, Philipp Schneider, Stelios Kazadzis, África Barreto, Tom Gardiner, Kavitha Mottungan, David Medland, and Marc Coleman
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4667–4680, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4667-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4667-2023, 2023
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Spectral solar irradiance measurements traceable to the International System of Units (SI) allow for intercomparability between instruments and for their validation according to metrological standards. Here we also validate and reduce the uncertainties of the top-of-atmosphere TSIS-1 Hybrid Solar Reference Spectrum (HSRS). The management of large networks, e.g. AERONET or GAW-PFR, will benefit from reducing logistical overhead, improving their resilience and achieving metrological traceability.
Vasiliki Daskalopoulou, Panagiotis I. Raptis, Alexandra Tsekeri, Vassilis Amiridis, Stelios Kazadzis, Zbigniew Ulanowski, Vassilis Charmandaris, Konstantinos Tassis, and William Martin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4529–4550, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4529-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4529-2023, 2023
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Atmospheric dust particles may present a preferential alignment due to their shape on long range transport. Since dust is abundant and plays a key role to global climate, the elusive observation of orientation will be a game changer to existing measurement techniques and the representation of particles in climate models. We utilize a specifically designed instrument, SolPol, and target the Sun from the ground for large polarization values under dusty conditions, a clear sign of orientation.
Sara Herrero-Anta, Roberto Román, David Mateos, Ramiro González, Juan Carlos Antuña-Sánchez, Marcos Herreras-Giralda, Antonio Fernando Almansa, Daniel González-Fernández, Celia Herrero del Barrio, Carlos Toledano, Victoria E. Cachorro, and Ángel M. de Frutos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4423–4443, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4423-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4423-2023, 2023
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This paper shows the potential of a simple radiometer like the ZEN-R52 as a possible alternative for aerosol property retrieval in remote areas. A calibration method based on radiative transfer simulations together with an inversion methodology using the GRASP code is proposed here. The results demonstrate that this methodology is useful for the retrieval of aerosol extensive properties like aerosol optical depth (AOD) and aerosol volume concentration for total, fine and coarse modes.
Akriti Masoom, Ilias Fountoulakis, Stelios Kazadzis, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Anna Kampouri, Basil E. Psiloglou, Dimitra Kouklaki, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Eleni Marinou, Stavros Solomos, Anna Gialitaki, Dimitra Founda, Vasileios Salamalikis, Dimitris Kaskaoutis, Natalia Kouremeti, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, Vassilis Amiridis, Andreas Kazantzidis, Alexandros Papayannis, Christos S. Zerefos, and Kostas Eleftheratos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8487–8514, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8487-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8487-2023, 2023
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We analyse the spatial and temporal aerosol spectral optical properties during the extreme wildfires of August 2021 in Greece and assess their effects on air quality and solar radiation quantities related to health, agriculture, and energy. Different aerosol conditions are identified (pure smoke, pure dust, dust–smoke together); the largest impact on solar radiation quantities is found for cases with mixed dust–smoke aerosols. Such situations are expected to occur more frequently in the future.
Theano Drosoglou, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Massimo Valeri, Stefano Casadio, Francesca Barnaba, Marcos Herreras-Giralda, Anton Lopatin, Oleg Dubovik, Gabriele Brizzi, Fabrizio Niro, Monica Campanelli, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2989–3014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2989-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2989-2023, 2023
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Aerosol optical properties derived from sun photometers depend on the optical depth of trace gases absorbing solar radiation at specific spectral ranges. Various networks use satellite-based climatologies to account for this or neglect their effect. In this work, we evaluate the effect of NO2 absorption in aerosol retrievals from AERONET and SKYNET over two stations in Rome, Italy, with relatively high NO2 spatiotemporal variations, using NO2 data from the Pandora network and the TROPOMI sensor.
Luca Egli, Julian Gröbner, Herbert Schill, and Eliane Maillard Barras
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2889–2902, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2889-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2889-2023, 2023
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This paper introduces a new method to retrieve total column ozone with spectral ground-based measurements from a novel array spectroradiometer. Total column ozone estimates using the small, cost-effective, and robust instrument and the new retrieval method are compared with other co-located total column ozone instruments. The comparison shows that the new system performs similarly to other well-established instruments, which require substantially more maintenance than the system introduced here.
Amanda Gumber, Jeffrey S. Reid, Robert E. Holz, Thomas F. Eck, N. Christina Hsu, Robert C. Levy, Jianglong Zhang, and Paolo Veglio
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2547–2573, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2547-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2547-2023, 2023
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The purpose of this study is to create and evaluate a gridded dataset composed of multiple satellite instruments and algorithms to be used for data assimilation. An important part of aerosol data assimilation is having consistent measurements, especially for severe aerosol events. This study evaluates 4 years of data from MODIS, VIIRS, and AERONET with a focus on aerosol severe event detection from a regional and global perspective.
Xiaoyi Zhao, Vitali Fioletov, Alberto Redondas, Julian Gröbner, Luca Egli, Franz Zeilinger, Javier López-Solano, Alberto Berjón Arroyo, James Kerr, Eliane Maillard Barras, Herman Smit, Michael Brohart, Reno Sit, Akira Ogyu, Ihab Abboud, and Sum Chi Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2273–2295, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2273-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2273-2023, 2023
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The Brewer ozone spectrophotometer is one of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW)'s standard ozone monitoring instruments since the 1980s. This work is aimed at obtaining answers to (1) why Brewer primary calibration work can only be performed at certain sites (e.g., Izaña and MLO) and (2) what is needed to assure the equivalence of calibration quality from different sites.
Juli I. Rubin, Jeffrey S. Reid, Peng Xian, Christopher M. Selman, and Thomas F. Eck
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4059–4090, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4059-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4059-2023, 2023
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This work aims to quantify the covariability between aerosol optical depth/extinction with water vapor (PW) globally, using NASA AERONET observations and NAAPS model data. Findings are important for data assimilation and radiative transfer. The study shows statistically significant and positive AOD–PW relationships are found across the globe, varying in strength with location and season and tied to large-scale aerosol events. Hygroscopic growth was also found to be an important factor.
Norman T. O'Neill, Keyvan Ranjbar, Liviu Ivănescu, Thomas F. Eck, Jeffrey S. Reid, David M. Giles, Daniel Pérez-Ramírez, and Jai Prakash Chaubey
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1103–1120, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1103-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1103-2023, 2023
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Aerosols are atmospheric particles that vary in size (radius) from a fraction of a micrometer (µm) to around 20 µm. They tend to be either smaller than 1 µm (like smoke or pollution) or larger than 1 µm (like dust or sea salt). Their optical effect (scattering and absorbing sunlight) can be divided into FM (fine-mode) and CM (coarse-mode) parts using a cutoff radius around 1 µm or a spectral (color) technique. We present and validate a theoretical link between the types of FM and CM divisions.
Bruce W. Forgan, Julian Gröbner, and Ibrahim Reda
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 727–743, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-727-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-727-2023, 2023
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This paper investigates the Absolute Cavity Pyrgeometer (ACP) and its use in measuring atmospheric terrestrial irradiances traceable to the standard system of units (SI). This work fits into the objective of the Expert Team on Radiation References, established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), to develop and validate instrumentation that can be used as reference instruments for terrestrial radiation measurements.
Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Antonis Gkikas, Ilias Fountoulakis, Akriti Masoom, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15703–15727, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15703-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15703-2022, 2022
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Megacities' air quality is determined by atmospheric aerosols. We focus on changes over the last two decades in the 81 largest cities, using satellite data. European and American cities have lower aerosol compared to African and Asian cities. For European, North American and East Asian cities, aerosols are decreasing over time, especially in China and the US. In the remaining cities, aerosol loads are increasing, particularly in India.
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.
Angelos Karanikolas, Natalia Kouremeti, Julian Gröbner, Luca Egli, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5667–5680, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5667-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5667-2022, 2022
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The aim of this work is to investigate the limitations of calculating long-term trends of a parameter that quantifies the overall effect of atmospheric aerosols on the solar radiation. A main finding is that even instruments with good agreement between their observations can show significantly different linear trends. By calculating time-varying trends, the trend agreement is shown to improve. We also show that different methods of trend estimation can result in significant trend differences.
Ukkyo Jeong, Si-Chee Tsay, N. Christina Hsu, David M. Giles, John W. Cooper, Jaehwa Lee, Robert J. Swap, Brent N. Holben, James J. Butler, Sheng-Hsiang Wang, Somporn Chantara, Hyunkee Hong, Donghee Kim, and Jhoon Kim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11957–11986, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11957-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11957-2022, 2022
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Ultraviolet (UV) measurements from satellite and ground are important for deriving information on several atmospheric trace and aerosol characteristics. Simultaneous retrievals of aerosol and trace gases in this study suggest that water uptake by aerosols is one of the important phenomena affecting aerosol properties over northern Thailand, which is important for regional air quality and climate. Obtained aerosol properties covering the UV are also important for various satellite algorithms.
África Barreto, Rosa D. García, Carmen Guirado-Fuentes, Emilio Cuevas, A. Fernando Almansa, Celia Milford, Carlos Toledano, Francisco J. Expósito, Juan P. Díaz, and Sergio F. León-Luis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11105–11124, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11105-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11105-2022, 2022
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A comprehensive characterization of atmospheric aerosols in the subtropical eastern North Atlantic has been carried out in this paper using long-term ground AERONET photometric observations over the period 2005–2020 from a unique network made up of four stations strategically located from sea level to 3555 m height on the island of Tenerife. This is a region that can be considered a key location to study the seasonal dependence of dust transport from the Sahel-Sahara.
Alexander Sinyuk, Brent N. Holben, Thomas F. Eck, David M. Giles, Ilya Slutsker, Oleg Dubovik, Joel S. Schafer, Alexander Smirnov, and Mikhail Sorokin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4135–4151, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4135-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4135-2022, 2022
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This paper describes modification of smoothness constraints on the imaginary part of the refractive index employed in the AERONET aerosol retrieval algorithm. This modification is termed relaxed due to the weaker strength of this new smoothness constraint. Applying the modified version of the smoothness constraint results in a significant reduction of retrieved light absorption by brown-carbon-containing aerosols.
Enza Di Tomaso, Jerónimo Escribano, Sara Basart, Paul Ginoux, Francesca Macchia, Francesca Barnaba, Francesco Benincasa, Pierre-Antoine Bretonnière, Arnau Buñuel, Miguel Castrillo, Emilio Cuevas, Paola Formenti, María Gonçalves, Oriol Jorba, Martina Klose, Lucia Mona, Gilbert Montané Pinto, Michail Mytilinaios, Vincenzo Obiso, Miriam Olid, Nick Schutgens, Athanasios Votsis, Ernest Werner, and Carlos Pérez García-Pando
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2785–2816, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2785-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2785-2022, 2022
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MONARCH reanalysis of desert dust aerosols extends the existing observation-based information for mineral dust monitoring by providing 3-hourly upper-air, surface and total column key geophysical variables of the dust cycle over Northern Africa, the Middle East and Europe, at a 0.1° horizontal resolution in a rotated grid, from 2007 to 2016. This work provides evidence of the high accuracy of this data set and its suitability for air quality and health and climate service applications.
Luca Egli, Julian Gröbner, Gregor Hülsen, Herbert Schill, and René Stübi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1917–1930, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1917-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1917-2022, 2022
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This study presents traceable total column ozone retrievals from direct solar spectral irradiance measurements. The retrieved ozone does not require any field calibration with a reference instrument as it is required for other operational network instruments such as Brewer or Dobson. Total column ozone can be retrieved with a traceable overall standard uncertainty of less than 0.8 % indicating a benchmark uncertainty for total column ozone measurements.
Antonis Gkikas, Emmanouil Proestakis, Vassilis Amiridis, Stelios Kazadzis, Enza Di Tomaso, Eleni Marinou, Nikos Hatzianastassiou, Jasper F. Kok, and Carlos Pérez García-Pando
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3553–3578, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3553-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3553-2022, 2022
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We present a comprehensive climatological analysis of dust optical depth (DOD) relying on the MIDAS dataset. MIDAS provides columnar mid-visible (550 nm) DOD at fine spatial resolution (0.1° × 0.1°) over a 15-year period (2003–2017). In the current study, the analysis is performed at various spatial (from regional to global) and temporal (from months to years) scales. More specifically, focus is given to specific regions hosting the major dust sources as well as downwind areas of the planet.
Jean-Claude Roger, Eric Vermote, Sergii Skakun, Emilie Murphy, Oleg Dubovik, Natacha Kalecinski, Bruno Korgo, and Brent Holben
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1123–1144, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1123-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1123-2022, 2022
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From measurements of the sky performed by AERONET, we determined the microphysical properties of the atmospheric particles (aerosols) for each AERONET site. We used the aerosol optical thickness and its variation over the visible spectrum. This allows us to determine an aerosol model useful for (but not only) the validation of the surface reflectance satellite-derived product. The impact of the aerosol model uncertainties on the surface reflectance validation has been found to be 1 % to 3 %.
Victoria Eugenia Cachorro, Juan Carlos Antuña-Sanchez, and Ángel Máximo de Frutos
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 1689–1712, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1689-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1689-2022, 2022
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This work describes the features of a simple, fast, accurate, and physically based spectral radiative transfer model (SSolar-GOA) in the solar wavelength range under clear skies. The model is intended for a wide community of users for many different applications, was designed to be easily replicated, and has sufficient accuracy. The validation of the model was carried out through extensive comparison with simulated spectra from the LibRadtran and with direct and global spectral measurements.
Roberto Román, Juan C. Antuña-Sánchez, Victoria E. Cachorro, Carlos Toledano, Benjamín Torres, David Mateos, David Fuertes, César López, Ramiro González, Tatyana Lapionok, Marcos Herreras-Giralda, Oleg Dubovik, and Ángel M. de Frutos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 407–433, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-407-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-407-2022, 2022
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An all-sky camera is used to obtain the relative sky radiance, and this radiance is used as input in an inversion code to obtain aerosol properties. This paper is really interesting because it pushes forward the use and capability of sky cameras for more advanced science purposes. Enhanced aerosol properties can be retrieved with accuracy using only an all-sky camera, but synergy with other instruments providing aerosol optical depth could even increase the power of these low-cost instruments.
Sujung Go, Alexei Lyapustin, Gregory L. Schuster, Myungje Choi, Paul Ginoux, Mian Chin, Olga Kalashnikova, Oleg Dubovik, Jhoon Kim, Arlindo da Silva, Brent Holben, and Jeffrey S. Reid
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1395–1423, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1395-2022, 2022
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This paper presents a retrieval algorithm of iron-oxide species (hematite, goethite) content in the atmosphere from DSCOVR EPIC observations. Our results display variations within the published range of hematite and goethite over the main dust-source regions but show significant seasonal and spatial variability. This implies a single-viewing satellite instrument with UV–visible channels may provide essential information on shortwave dust direct radiative effects for climate modeling.
África Barreto, Emilio Cuevas, Rosa D. García, Judit Carrillo, Joseph M. Prospero, Luka Ilić, Sara Basart, Alberto J. Berjón, Carlos L. Marrero, Yballa Hernández, Juan José Bustos, Slobodan Ničković, and Margarita Yela
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 739–763, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-739-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-739-2022, 2022
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In this study, we categorise the different patterns of dust transport over the subtropical North Atlantic and for the first time robustly describe the dust vertical distribution in the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) over this region. Our results revealed the important role that both dust and water vapour play in the radiative balance in summer and winter and confirm the role of the SAL in the formation of mid-level clouds as a result of the activation of heterogeneous ice nucleation processes.
Moritz Haarig, Albert Ansmann, Ronny Engelmann, Holger Baars, Carlos Toledano, Benjamin Torres, Dietrich Althausen, Martin Radenz, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 355–369, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-355-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-355-2022, 2022
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The irregular shape of dust particles makes it difficult to treat them correctly in optical models. Atmospheric measurements of dust optical properties are therefore of great importance. The present study increases the space of observed parameters from 355 and 532 nm towards 1064 nm, which is of special importance for large dust particles. The lidar ratio influenced by mineralogy and the depolarization ratio influenced by shape are measured for the first time at all three wavelengths.
Qiansi Tu, Frank Hase, Matthias Schneider, Omaira García, Thomas Blumenstock, Tobias Borsdorff, Matthias Frey, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Alba Lorente, Carlos Alberti, Juan J. Bustos, André Butz, Virgilio Carreño, Emilio Cuevas, Roger Curcoll, Christopher J. Diekmann, Darko Dubravica, Benjamin Ertl, Carme Estruch, Sergio Fabián León-Luis, Carlos Marrero, Josep-Anton Morgui, Ramón Ramos, Christian Scharun, Carsten Schneider, Eliezer Sepúlveda, Carlos Toledano, and Carlos Torres
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 295–317, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-295-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-295-2022, 2022
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We use different methane ground- and space-based remote sensing data sets for investigating the emission strength of three waste disposal sites close to Madrid. We present a method that uses wind-assigned anomalies for deriving emission strengths from satellite data and estimate their uncertainty to 9–14 %. The emission strengths estimated from the remote sensing data sets are significantly larger than the values published in the official register.
Stavros-Andreas Logothetis, Vasileios Salamalikis, Antonis Gkikas, Stelios Kazadzis, Vassilis Amiridis, and Andreas Kazantzidis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16499–16529, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16499-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16499-2021, 2021
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This study investigates the temporal trends of dust optical depth (DOD; 550 nm) on global, regional and seasonal scales over a 15-year period (2003–2017) using the MIDAS (ModIs Dust AeroSol) dataset. The findings of this study revealed that the DOD was increased across the central Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula, with opposite trends over the eastern and western Sahara, the Thar and Gobi deserts, in the Bodélé Depression, and in the southern Mediterranean.
Xinyuan Hou, Martin Wild, Doris Folini, Stelios Kazadzis, and Jan Wohland
Earth Syst. Dynam., 12, 1099–1113, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1099-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1099-2021, 2021
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Solar photovoltaics (PV) matters for the carbon neutrality goal. We use climate scenarios to quantify climate risk for PV in Europe and find higher PV potential. The seasonal cycle of PV generation changes in most places. We find an increase in the spatial correlations of daily PV production, implying that PV power balancing through redistribution will be more difficult in the future. Thus, changes in the spatiotemporal structure of PV generation should be included in power system design.
Omaira E. García, Matthias Schneider, Eliezer Sepúlveda, Frank Hase, Thomas Blumenstock, Emilio Cuevas, Ramón Ramos, Jochen Gross, Sabine Barthlott, Amelie N. Röhling, Esther Sanromá, Yenny González, Ángel J. Gómez-Peláez, Mónica Navarro-Comas, Olga Puentedura, Margarita Yela, Alberto Redondas, Virgilio Carreño, Sergio F. León-Luis, Enrique Reyes, Rosa D. García, Pedro P. Rivas, Pedro M. Romero-Campos, Carlos Torres, Natalia Prats, Miguel Hernández, and César López
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15519–15554, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15519-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15519-2021, 2021
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This paper analyses the potential of ground-based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) solar observations to monitor atmospheric gaseous composition and investigate multiple climate processes. To this end, this work reviews the FTIR programme of one of most relevant ground-based FTIR stations at a global scale, the subtropical Izaña Observatory (IZO, Spain), going over its history during its first 20 years of operation (1999–2018) and exploring its great value for long-term climate research.
Xinxin Ye, Pargoal Arab, Ravan Ahmadov, Eric James, Georg A. Grell, Bradley Pierce, Aditya Kumar, Paul Makar, Jack Chen, Didier Davignon, Greg R. Carmichael, Gonzalo Ferrada, Jeff McQueen, Jianping Huang, Rajesh Kumar, Louisa Emmons, Farren L. Herron-Thorpe, Mark Parrington, Richard Engelen, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Arlindo da Silva, Amber Soja, Emily Gargulinski, Elizabeth Wiggins, Johnathan W. Hair, Marta Fenn, Taylor Shingler, Shobha Kondragunta, Alexei Lyapustin, Yujie Wang, Brent Holben, David M. Giles, and Pablo E. Saide
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14427–14469, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14427-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14427-2021, 2021
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Wildfire smoke has crucial impacts on air quality, while uncertainties in the numerical forecasts remain significant. We present an evaluation of 12 real-time forecasting systems. Comparison of predicted smoke emissions suggests a large spread in magnitudes, with temporal patterns deviating from satellite detections. The performance for AOD and surface PM2.5 and their discrepancies highlighted the role of accurately represented spatiotemporal emission profiles in improving smoke forecasts.
Panagiotis G. Kosmopoulos, Stelios Kazadzis, Alois W. Schmalwieser, Panagiotis I. Raptis, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Ilias Fountoulakis, Akriti Masoom, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Julia Bilbao, Mario Blumthaler, Axel Kreuter, Anna Maria Siani, Kostas Eleftheratos, Chrysanthi Topaloglou, Julian Gröbner, Bjørn Johnsen, Tove M. Svendby, Jose Manuel Vilaplana, Lionel Doppler, Ann R. Webb, Marina Khazova, Hugo De Backer, Anu Heikkilä, Kaisa Lakkala, Janusz Jaroslawski, Charikleia Meleti, Henri Diémoz, Gregor Hülsen, Barbara Klotz, John Rimmer, and Charalampos Kontoes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5657–5699, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5657-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5657-2021, 2021
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Large-scale retrievals of the ultraviolet index (UVI) in real time by exploiting the modern Earth observation data and techniques are capable of forming operational early warning systems that raise awareness among citizens of the health implications of high UVI doses. In this direction a novel UVI operating system, the so-called UVIOS, was introduced for massive outputs, while its performance was tested against ground-based measurements revealing a dependence on the input quality and resolution.
Hongbin Yu, Qian Tan, Lillian Zhou, Yaping Zhou, Huisheng Bian, Mian Chin, Claire L. Ryder, Robert C. Levy, Yaswant Pradhan, Yingxi Shi, Qianqian Song, Zhibo Zhang, Peter R. Colarco, Dongchul Kim, Lorraine A. Remer, Tianle Yuan, Olga Mayol-Bracero, and Brent N. Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12359–12383, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12359-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12359-2021, 2021
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This study characterizes a historic African dust intrusion into the Caribbean Basin in June 2020 using satellites and NASA GEOS. Dust emissions in West Africa were large albeit not extreme. However, a unique synoptic system accumulated the dust near the coast for about 4 d before it was ventilated. Although GEOS reproduced satellite-observed plume tracks well, it substantially underestimated dust emissions and did not lift up dust high enough for ensuing long-range transport.
Antti Arola, William Wandji Nyamsi, Antti Lipponen, Stelios Kazadzis, Nickolay A. Krotkov, and Johanna Tamminen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4947–4957, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4947-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4947-2021, 2021
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Methods to estimate surface UV radiation from satellite measurements offer the only means to obtain global coverage, and the development of satellite-based UV algorithms has been ongoing since the early 1990s. One of the main challenges in this development has been how to account for the overall effect of absorption by atmospheric aerosols. One such method was suggested roughly a decade ago, and in this study we propose further improvements for this kind of approach.
Ralf Zuber, Ulf Köhler, Luca Egli, Mario Ribnitzky, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, and Julian Gröbner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4915–4928, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4915-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4915-2021, 2021
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We validated two BTS-based systems in a longer-term TOC analysis in the 2019/2020 campaign at Hohenpeißenberg and Davos. The results showed a deviation of the BTS-Solar to Brewers of < 0.1 % with a k = 2 of < 1.5 %. Koherent showed a deviation of 1.7 % with a k = 2 of 2.7 %. Resultingly, the BTS-Solar performance is comparable to Brewers in Hohenpeißenberg. Koherent shows a seasonal variation in Davos due to the sensitivity of its TOC retrieval algorithm to stratospheric temperature.
Jose Antonio Benavent-Oltra, Juan Andrés Casquero-Vera, Roberto Román, Hassan Lyamani, Daniel Pérez-Ramírez, María José Granados-Muñoz, Milagros Herrera, Alberto Cazorla, Gloria Titos, Pablo Ortiz-Amezcua, Andrés Esteban Bedoya-Velásquez, Gregori de Arruda Moreira, Noemí Pérez, Andrés Alastuey, Oleg Dubovik, Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado, Francisco José Olmo-Reyes, and Lucas Alados-Arboledas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9269–9287, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9269-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9269-2021, 2021
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In this paper, we use the GRASP algorithm combining different remote sensing measurements to obtain the aerosol vertical and column properties during the SLOPE I and II campaigns. We show an overview of aerosol properties retrieved by GRASP during these campaigns and evaluate the retrievals of aerosol properties using the in situ measurements performed at a high-altitude station and airborne flights. For the first time we present an evaluation of the absorption coefficient by GRASP.
Marek Šmíd, Geiland Porrovecchio, Jiří Tesař, Tim Burnitt, Luca Egli, Julian Grőbner, Petr Linduška, and Martin Staněk
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3573–3582, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3573-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3573-2021, 2021
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We designed and developed a tuneable and portable radiation source (TuPS) to provide a reference wavelength scale, with a bandwidth of emitted radiation of 0.13 nm and uncertainty in wavelength of 0.02 nm. TuPS was successfully used for the in-field characterization of 14 Dobson spectrophotometers in campaigns in Europe. The line spread functions of Dobsons measured by TuPS in conjunction with the cross-sections from IUP improves the consistency between the Dobson and Brewer from 3 % to 1 %.
Julian Gröbner, Herbert Schill, Luca Egli, and René Stübi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3319–3331, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3319-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3319-2021, 2021
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The world's longest continuous total column ozone time series was initiated in 1926 at the Lichtklimatisches Observatorium (LKO), at Arosa, in the Swiss Alps. The measurements between Dobson and Brewer spectroradiometers have shown seasonal variations of the order of 2 %. The results of the study show that the consistency between the two instrument types can be significantly improved when the ozone cross-sections from Serdyuchenko et al. (2013) and the measured slit functions are used.
Juan C. Antuña-Sánchez, Roberto Román, Victoria E. Cachorro, Carlos Toledano, César López, Ramiro González, David Mateos, Abel Calle, and Ángel M. de Frutos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2201–2217, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2201-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2201-2021, 2021
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This paper presents a new technique to exploit the potential of all-sky cameras. The sky radiance at three effective wavelengths is calculated and compared with alternative measurements and simulated data. The proposed method will be useful for the retrieval of aerosol and cloud properties.
Jens Redemann, Robert Wood, Paquita Zuidema, Sarah J. Doherty, Bernadette Luna, Samuel E. LeBlanc, Michael S. Diamond, Yohei Shinozuka, Ian Y. Chang, Rei Ueyama, Leonhard Pfister, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Amie N. Dobracki, Arlindo M. da Silva, Karla M. Longo, Meloë S. Kacenelenbogen, Connor J. Flynn, Kristina Pistone, Nichola M. Knox, Stuart J. Piketh, James M. Haywood, Paola Formenti, Marc Mallet, Philip Stier, Andrew S. Ackerman, Susanne E. Bauer, Ann M. Fridlind, Gregory R. Carmichael, Pablo E. Saide, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Steven G. Howell, Steffen Freitag, Brian Cairns, Brent N. Holben, Kirk D. Knobelspiesse, Simone Tanelli, Tristan S. L'Ecuyer, Andrew M. Dzambo, Ousmane O. Sy, Greg M. McFarquhar, Michael R. Poellot, Siddhant Gupta, Joseph R. O'Brien, Athanasios Nenes, Mary Kacarab, Jenny P. S. Wong, Jennifer D. Small-Griswold, Kenneth L. Thornhill, David Noone, James R. Podolske, K. Sebastian Schmidt, Peter Pilewskie, Hong Chen, Sabrina P. Cochrane, Arthur J. Sedlacek, Timothy J. Lang, Eric Stith, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, Richard A. Ferrare, Sharon P. Burton, Chris A. Hostetler, David J. Diner, Felix C. Seidel, Steven E. Platnick, Jeffrey S. Myers, Kerry G. Meyer, Douglas A. Spangenberg, Hal Maring, and Lan Gao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1507–1563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1507-2021, 2021
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Southern Africa produces significant biomass burning emissions whose impacts on regional and global climate are poorly understood. ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) is a 5-year NASA investigation designed to study the key processes that determine these climate impacts. The main purpose of this paper is to familiarize the broader scientific community with the ORACLES project, the dataset it produced, and the most important initial findings.
Myrto Gratsea, Tim Bösch, Panagiotis Kokkalis, Andreas Richter, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Stelios Kazadzis, Alexandra Tsekeri, Alexandros Papayannis, Maria Mylonaki, Vassilis Amiridis, Nikos Mihalopoulos, and Evangelos Gerasopoulos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 749–767, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-749-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-749-2021, 2021
Antonis Gkikas, Emmanouil Proestakis, Vassilis Amiridis, Stelios Kazadzis, Enza Di Tomaso, Alexandra Tsekeri, Eleni Marinou, Nikos Hatzianastassiou, and Carlos Pérez García-Pando
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 309–334, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-309-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-309-2021, 2021
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We present the development of the MIDAS (ModIs Dust AeroSol) data set, providing daily dust optical depth (DOD; 550 nm) at a global scale and fine spatial resolution (0.1° x 0.1°) over a 15-year period (2003–2017). It has been developed via the synergy of MODIS-Aqua and MERRA-2 data, while CALIOP and AERONET retrievals are used for its assessment. MIDAS upgrades existing dust observational capabilities, and it is suitable for dust climatological studies, model evaluation, and data assimilation.
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Short summary
Most of the ground-based radiometric networks have their reference instruments and/or calibrate them at Mauna Loa or Izaña. The suitability of these high-mountain stations for absolute radiometric calibrations is investigated with the support of 20 years of first-class Sun photometer data from the AERONET and GAW-PFR networks. We analyze the number of calibration days at each site in a climatological sense and investigate the uncertainty of the calibrations based on long-term statistics.
Most of the ground-based radiometric networks have their reference instruments and/or calibrate...
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