In the summer of 2017, huge wildfires in the British Columbia region (Canada) led to the injection of a remarkably high concentration of biomass burning aerosol in the atmosphere. These aerosol ...masses reached the city of Naples, Italy, at the end of August 2017, where they were characterized by means of a multiwavelength lidar and a sun–sky–lunar photometer. Here we report on the optical and microphysical properties of this aerosol in an intriguing condition, occurring on 4 September 2017, which is characterized by an interesting multi-layered vertical distribution of the aerosol. The Lidar profiles highlighted the presence of four aerosol layers, with two located in the lower troposphere and the other two at stratospheric altitudes. A rather thorough characterization of the biomass burning aerosol was carried out. The aerosol depolarization ratio showed an increasing dependence on the altitude with averaged values of 2–4% for the tropospheric layers, which are indicative of almost spherical smoke particles, and larger values in the stratospheric layers, suggestive of aspheric particles. Lidar-derived size distributions were retrieved for the first three aerosol layers, highlighting a higher particle concentration in the fine-mode fraction for the layers observed at higher altitudes. A dominance of fine particles in the atmosphere (fine-mode fraction > 0.8) with low absorption properties (absorption AOD < 0.0025 and SSA > 0.97) was also observed over the whole atmospheric column by sun photometer data. The space-resolved results provided by the lidar data are consistent with the columnar features retrieved by the AERONET sun photometer, thus evidencing the reliability and capability of lidar characterization of atmospheric aerosol in a very interesting condition of multiple aerosol layers originating from Canadian fires overpassing the observation station.
We report on the characterization of columnar aerosol optical and microphysical properties in the Naples Mediterranean area over a period of five years by the ground-based sun–sky–lunar photometer ...operating at our observational station in the frame of the AERONET network. Statistical and climatological analyses of daily mean values of aerosol optical depth at 440 nm (AOD440) and Ångström exponent at 440/870 nm (α440/870) allowed for highlighting their typical seasonal behavior. In particular, we observe higher mean values of the AOD440 during summer or spring, which are consistent with an increased frequency of both Saharan dust transport events and biomass burning episodes affecting the measurement area in these periods of the year. Conversely, α440/870 does not show any typical seasonal trend. In order to gain information on the different aerosol contributions along the atmospheric column, the frequency distributions of AOD440 and α440/870 were analyzed and fitted by a superposition of Gaussian functions. The most populated modes are centered at α440/870 = 1.26 ± 0.07 and AOD440 = 0.16 ± 0.01. These values are associated with continental polluted aerosol mixed with sea salt aerosol and correspond to the background conditions typically observed in clear atmospheric conditions. Daily size distributions averaged over each month highlight that the fine aerosol component always prevails over the coarse fraction, except for the few months in which Saharan dust events are particularly frequent. Finally, the mean value of the SSA at 440 nm resulted as 0.94 ± 0.05, while the refractive index real and imaginary part were 1.47 ± 0.07 and (6.5 ± 0.2) × 10−3, respectively. These values are in agreement with those observed in other Mediterranean sites located in Southern Italy, evidencing a rather characteristic feature of the geographical region.
In January 2016, a measurement campaign was carried out by the China Meteorological Administration, the Beijing Research Institute of Telemetry, and the Physics Department of the University of Naples ...“Federico II” in the Yulong Naxi Autonomous County (China) at 3200 m above sea level to evaluate the air quality in the high mountains with the lidar technique. Here we report on an interesting event that occurred on 16 January between 12.00 and 00.00 UTC, when a striking aerosol stratification was observed on the site. Aerosol transport events are studied starting from lidar characterization of different aerosol masses. From lidar signals at 355 and 532 nm, integrated on 30 min, the aerosol characterization is done in terms of aerosol depolarization ratio with a spatial resolution of 60 m and color ratio; these parameters allow for highlighting a phenomenon of aerosol transport from the Tibetan plateau planetary boundary layer and from northern India. The initial layer is composed of a mixture of aerosols characterized by average values of the aerosol depolarization ratio and the color ratio of (30 ± 2)% and (0.9 ± 0.2), respectively, indicating a large non-spherical aerosol composition. Then, the deposition of this aerosol load ensues, and aerosols with such features are progressively observed at lower altitudes.
During the summer of 2017, multiple huge fires occurred on Mount Vesuvius (Italy), dispersing a large quantity of ash in the surrounding area ensuing the burning of tens of hectares of Mediterranean ...scrub. The fires affected a very large area of the Vesuvius National Park and the smoke was driven by winds towards the city of Naples, causing daily peak values of particulate matter (PM) concentrations at ground level higher than the limit of the EU air quality directive. The smoke plume spreading over the area of Naples in this period was characterized by active (lidar) and passive (sun photometer) remote sensing as well as near-surface (optical particle counter) observational techniques. The measurements allowed us to follow both the PM variation at ground level and the vertical profile of fresh biomass burning aerosol as well as to analyze the optical and microphysical properties. The results evidenced the presence of a layer of fine mode aerosol with large mean values of optical depth (AOD > 0.25) and Ångstrom exponent (γ > 1.5) above the observational site. Moreover, the lidar ratio and aerosol linear depolarization obtained from the lidar observations were about 40 sr and 4%, respectively, consistent with the presence of biomass burning aerosol in the atmosphere.
Volcanic emissions are a well-known hazard that can have serious impacts on local populations and aviation operations. Whereas several remote sensing observations detect high-intensity explosive ...eruptions, few studies focus on low intensity and long-lasting volcanic emissions. In this work, we have managed to fully characterize those events by analyzing the volcanic plume produced on the last day of the 2018 Christmas eruption at Mt. Etna, in Italy. We combined data from a visible calibrated camera, a multi-wavelength elastic/Raman Lidar system, from SEVIRI (EUMETSAT-MSG) and MODIS (NASA-Terra/Aqua) satellites and, for the first time, data from an automatic sun-photometer of the aerosol robotic network (AERONET). Results show that the volcanic plume height, ranging between 4.5 and 6 km at the source, decreased by about 0.5 km after 25 km. Moreover, the volcanic plume was detectable by the satellites up to a distance of about 400 km and contained very fine particles with a mean effective radius of about 7 µm. In some time intervals, volcanic ash mass concentration values were around the aviation safety thresholds of 2 × 10−3 g m−3. Of note, Lidar observations show two main stratifications of about 0.25 km, which were not observed at the volcanic source. The presence of the double stratification could have important implications on satellite retrievals, which usually consider only one plume layer. This work gives new details on the main features of volcanic plumes produced during low intensity and long-lasting volcanic plume emissions.
A lidar for aerosol monitoring with conventional optical design can provide good quality signals from several hundred meters up to tens of kilometres above the ground, but the aerosol load is mainly ...contained (up to 80%) in the planetary boundary layer that can have a height of only hundreds of meters above the ground level. Therefore, the measurement of the complete aerosol extinction profile is generally a very difficult challenge. In this paper, we proposed an optical design of lidar systems able of producing signals starting from a few tens of meters above the ground. The overlap profiles obtained from an optimized lidar was compared with ray tracing simulations and further conventional lidar apparatuses.
Lidar technique is the most performing way to obtain the atmospheric vertical profile of aerosol optical properties with high space-time resolution. With elastic scattering lidars, the retrieval of ...aerosol optical properties (as the extinction profile) is realizable only with assumptions on aerosol extinction-to-backscatter ratio or with Raman measurement achievable in night-time. In order to overcome these problems, the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) technique has been examined. In this paper we present an innovative prototype of High Spectral Resolution Lidar realized at Physics Department of University “Federico II” of Naples for the LISA (LIdar for Space study of the Atmosphere) project in the framework of the China-Italy international cooperation between CNISM and BRIT. The prototype which represents a first step of a spaceborne HSRL, is based on a laser source at 1064nm and 532nm with high spectral resolution ability at 532nm. The separation between the molecular and the aerosol components was obtained through the use of a confocal Fabry-Perot interferometer (CFPI) cavity.
Volcanic emissions represent a well-known hazard mainly for aviation safety that can be reduced with real time observations and characterization of eruptive activity. In order to mitigate risks from ...volcanic ash, Lidar observations allow to perform immediate and accurate detection of volcanic plumes, quantify volcanic ash concentration in atmosphere and characterize optical properties of volcanic particles, improving modeling of volcanic ash clouds and their potential impact. From 14 to 17 December, 2013, Mt. Etna, in Italy, showed an intense Strombolian activity from the New South East Crater (NSEC). Lidar measurements were performed in Catania, pointing at a thin volcanic plume, clearly visible and dispersed from the summit craters toward the South East. Real-time Lidar observations captured the complex dynamics of the volcanic plume along with the pulsatory nature of the explosive activity and allowed to analyze the geometrical, optical and microphysical properties of the volcanic ash. Both the aerosol backscattering (βA) and the extinction coefficient (αA) profiles at 355 nm, and their ratio the Lidar Ratio (LR) were measured near the volcanic source using an Elastic/Raman Lidar system. Moreover, calibrated particle linear depolarization values (δA) were obtained from Lidar profiles measured in the parallel and cross polarized channels at 355 nm, thus allowing to characterize the particle shape. The βA, LR, and δA values were used to estimate the ash concentration (γ) profiles in the volcanic plume. This is the first study of optical properties of volcanic particles through Elastic/Raman measurements near volcanic summit craters and one of few studies which quantify the impact of weak eruptive activity in atmosphere, demonstrating that ash concentration from this type of activity was lower than the safety concentration threshold established by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The current high energy cosmic ray detection technology, including Cherenkov telescopes and fluorescence detector, is mainly limited by uncertainties in the determination of atmospheric parameters. ...LIDARs are currently the best suited technology to get atmospheric parameters for the atmosphere correction of high energy cosmic ray observatory data with one single instrument. A new Multi-wavelength Raman Polarization Lidar (AMPLE) has been developed and introduced in this paper. In order to provide precise and accurate results, lidar system should be calibrated before using for atmosphere correction in cosmic rays observatory. The calibration methods and results of AMPLE have been presented, including overlap function calibration, multi-wavelength channel calibration, depolarization calibration. In order to verify the accuracy of parameter measured by AMPLE lidar system, the comparison with radio sounder and sun-photometer has been done. The results show AMPLE lidar system has the ability to precisely measure the vertical profile of the atmosphere properties without any assumption and is a good choice for cosmic rays observatory to get atmosphere correction information.
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