Arrange and average algorithm for the retrieval of aerosol microphysical parameters from HSRL-2. Comparison with in-situ measurements during DISCOVER-AQ California and Texas (2013)

Abstract:

Although aerosols are only a fairly minor constituent of Earth's atmosphere they are able to affect its radiative energy balance significantly. Light detection and ranging (lidar) instruments have the potential to play a crucial role in atmospheric research as only these instruments provide information about aerosol properties at a high vertical resolution. We are exploring different algorithmic approaches to retrieve microphysical properties of aerosols using lidar. Almost two decades ago we started with inversion techniques based on Tikhonov's regularization that became a reference point for the improvement of retrieval capabilities of inversion algorithms. Recently we began examining the potential of the “arrange and average” scheme, which relies on a look-up table of optical and microphysical aerosol properties. The future combination of these two different inversion schemes may help us to improve the accuracy of the microphysical data products.
The novel arrange and average algorithm was applied to retrieve aerosol optical and microphysical parameters using NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL-2) data. HSRL-2 is the first airborne HSRL system that is able to provide advanced datasets consisting of backscatter coefficients at 355, 532, and 1064 nm, and extinction coefficients at 355 and 532 nm as input information for aerosol microphysical retrievals. HSRL-2 was deployed on-board NASA LaRC's King Air aircraft during the Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and VERtically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) field campaigns over the California Central Valley and Houston. Vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties and size distributions were obtained from in-situ instruments on-board the NASA’s P-3B aircraft. As HSRL-2 flew along the same flight track of the P-3B, synergistic measurements and retrievals were obtained by these two independent platforms. We will present an intercomparison of the corresponding data products. The list of considered microphysical parameters traditionally includes the number, surface area and volume concentrations, and effective radius. For the first time we show complex refractive index and single-scattering albedo of aerosols observed with HSRL-2 during these campaigns.