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Aerosol Focus Area
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Aerosol particles impact solar radiation directly by scattering and absorption and indirectly as cloud condensation nuclei. The ARM aerosol system characterizes atmospheric particles by taking measurements at 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground to document particle size distribution, optical properties, and the number concentration. Lidar systems provide profile data on the scattering and extinction parameters of aerosols in a vertical column of the atmosphere directly overhead.
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Instruments that Measure Aerosols
- AOS - in-situ aerosol observation system at the SGP Central Facility:
- aerosol optical absorption
- particle nuclei counter - particle concentration at high supersaturation
- multiwavelength integrating nephelometer - backscatter at 550 nm
- three-wavelength integrating nephelometer - backscatter and scatter coefficients
- optical particle counter - particle size distribution
- profile of scattering and extinction coefficients
- RL - Raman lidar; aerosol profiles
- MPL - Micropulse Lidar at central facility; cloud base height (up to 15 km), backscatter ratio
- MWR - Microwave Radiometer at central and boundary facilities; column integrated liquid water and integrated water vapor
- WSI - Whole Sky Imager at central facility; cloud fraction, sky imagery
- RL - Raman Lidar at central facility; backscatter ratio, linear depolarization ratio
- VCEIL - Vaisala Ceilometer at central and boundary facilities; base height of first, second and third lowest cloud detected
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