Vertical profiles of aerosol mass concentration derived by unmanned airborne in situ and remote sensing instruments during dust events
2018
Abstract. In situ measurements using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and
remote sensing observations can independently provide dense
vertically resolved measurements of atmospheric aerosols, information which
is strongly required in climate models. In both cases, inverting the recorded
signals to useful information requires assumptions and constraints, and this
can make the comparison of the results difficult. Here we compare, for the
first time, vertical profiles of the aerosol mass concentration derived from
light detection and ranging (lidar) observations and in situ measurements
using an optical particle counter on board a UAV during moderate and
weak Saharan dust episodes. Agreement between the two measurement methods was
within experimental uncertainty for the coarse mode (i.e. particles having
radii >0.5 µm ), where the properties of dust particles can be assumed
with good accuracy. This result proves that the two techniques can be used
interchangeably for determining the vertical profiles of aerosol
concentrations, bringing them a step closer towards their systematic
exploitation in climate models.
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