Characterization of the atmosphere during SEN2FLEX 2005 field campaign
The European Space Agency carried out the Sentinel-2 and Fluorescence Experiment (SEN2FLEX) campaign in Barrax (Spain) during the summer of 2005, with the main objective of observe solar induced fluorescence signal using the AirFLEX airborne instrument over different vegetation targets in order to verify signal suitability for observations from space as proposed in the FLEX mission. A highly precise atmospheric correction is mandatory for adequate measurements of the AirFLEX instrument; thus a complete characterization of the atmosphere was programmed in SEN2FLEX in order to document the presence of atmospheric aerosols above the experimental area, as their effects represent the major sourc…
Aerosol closure study by lidar, sun photometry, and airborne optical counters during DAMOCLES field campaign at El Arenosillo sounding station, Spain
We present a comparison of aerosol properties derived from in situ and remote sensing instruments during DAMOCLES campaign, aimed at investigating the equivalence between the instrumentation and methodologies employed by several Spanish groups to study atmospheric aerosols at a regional background site. The complete set of instruments available during this closure experiment allowed collecting a valuable high-resolution aerosol measurement data set. The data set was augmented with airborne in situ measurements carried out in order to characterize aerosol particles during the midday of 29 June 2006. This work is focused on aerosol measurements using different techniques of high-quality instr…
Aerosol Lidar Intercomparison in the Framework of SPALINET—The Spanish Lidar Network: Methodology and Results
Abstract—A group of eight Spanish lidars was formed in order to extend the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network–Advanced Sustainable Observation System (EARLINET-ASOS)project. This study presents intercomparisons at the hardware and software levels. Results of the system intercomparisons are based on range-square-corrected signals in cases where the lidars viewed the same atmospheres. Comparisons were also made for aeros backscatter coefficients at 1064 nm (2 systems) and 532 nm (all systems), and for extinction coefficients at 532 nm (2 systems). In total, three field campaigns were carried out between 2006 and 2007. Comparisons were limited to the highest layer found before the free tr…
February 2017 extreme Saharan dust outbreak in the Iberian Peninsula: from lidar-derived optical properties to evaluation of forecast models
Abstract. An unprecedented extreme Saharan dust event was registered in winter time from 20 to 23 February 2017 over the Iberian Peninsula (IP). We report on aerosol optical properties observed under this extreme dust outbreak through remote sensing (active and passive) techniques. For that, EARLINET (European Aerosol Research LIdar NETwork) lidar and AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) Sun-photometer Cimel CE 318 measurements are used. The sites considered are: Barcelona (41.38º N, 2.17º E), Burjassot (39.51º N, 0.42º W), Cabo da Roca (38.78º N, 9.50º W), Évora (38.57º N, 7.91º W), Granada (37.16º N, 3.61º W) and Madrid (40.45º N, 3.72º W). In general, large aerosol optical depths (AOD) and …
Extreme, wintertime Saharan dust intrusion in the Iberian Peninsula: Lidar monitoring and evaluation of dust forecast models during the February 2017 event
The research leading to these results has received funding from the H2020 program from the European Union (grant agreement no. 654109, 778349) and also from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Economy and Competitiviness (MINECO, ref. CGL2013-45410-R, CGL2016-81092-R, CGL2017-85344-R, TEC2015-63832-P), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (ref. CGL2017-90884-REDT); the CommSensLab "Maria de Maeztu" Unity of Excellence (ref. MDM-2016-0600) financed by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación. Co-funding was also provided by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ref. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007690, ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-000004, ALT20-03-0145-FED…
Comparison of aerosol size distributions measured at ground level and calculated from inversion of solar radiances
Ground-based sunphotometry measurements can be used to investigate atmospheric aerosol optical properties, such as the volume size distribution, an important parameter in the study of the effect of aerosol on atmospheric processes. Most inversion algorithms assume constant aerosol optical characteristics over the whole air column. In this work we present observational evidence of the limitations of this simplifying assumption in cases where the aerosol vertical structure is highly inhomogeneous. During the field campaign VELETA 2002, carried out in Granada (Spain), a quite complete characterization of the atmospheric aerosol was obtained by simultaneously measuring the columnar aerosol char…
Atmospheric components determination from ground-level measurements during the spectra Barax Campaigns (SPARC) field campaigns
The Surface Processes and Ecosystem Changes Through Response Analysis (SPECTRA) Barrax Campaigns were validation campaigns developed in the framework of the SPECTRA mission in order to verify that the geophysical data products provided by satellite imagery are consistent with the measurements made by independent means. Two campaigns took place in Barrax, Spain, during the summers of 2003 and 2004. This paper presents the results of the characterization of the atmospheric composition from solar radiation, radiosoundings, and lidar measurements. Several potentially interesting situations involving atmospheric layers with different types of aerosols and water content are discussed. The presenc…