ALBERT

Description: Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), launched in July 2004, is dedicated to the monitoring of the Earth's ozone, air quality and climate. OMI provides among other things the total column of ozone (TOC), the surface ultraviolet (UV) irradiance at several wavelengths, the erythemal dose rate and the erythemal daily dose. The main objective of this work is to validate OMI data with ground-based instruments in order to use OMI products (collection 2) for scientific studies. The Laboratoire d'Optique Atmosphérique (LOA) located in Villeneuve d'Ascq in the north of France performs solar UV measurements using a spectroradiometer and a broadband radiometer. The site of Briançon in the French Southern Alps is also equipped with a spectroradiometer operated by Interaction Rayonnement Solaire Atmosphère (IRSA). The instrument belongs to the Centre Européen Médical et Bioclimatologique de Recherche et d'Enseignement Supérieur. The comparison between the TOC retrieved with ground-based measurements and OMI TOC shows good agreement at both sites for all sky conditions. Comparisons of spectral UV on clear sky conditions are also satisfying whereas results of comparisons of the erythemal daily doses and erythemal dose rates for all sky conditions and for clear sky show that OMI overestimates significantly surface UV doses at both sites.

Description: Global and diffuse UV-visible solar irradiances are routinely measured since 2003 with a spectroradiometer operated by the Laboratoire d'Optique Atmosphérique (LOA) located in Villeneuve d'Ascq, France. The analysis of the direct irradiance derived by cloudless conditions enables retrieving the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) spectrum in the 330–450 nm range. The site hosts also sunphotometers from the AERONET/PHOTONS network performing routinely measurements of the AOT at several wavelengths. On one hand, comparisons between the spectroradiometer and the sunphotometer AOT at 440 nm as well as, when available, at 340 and 380 nm, show good agreement. On the other hand, the AOT's spectral variations have been compared using the Angström exponents derived from AOT data at 340 and 440 nm for both instruments. The comparisons show that this parameter is difficult to retrieve accurately due to the small wavelength range and due to the weak AOT values. Thus, AOT derived at wavelengths outside the spectroradiometer range by means of an extrapolation using the Angström parameter would be of poor value, whereas, spectroradiometer's spectral AOT could be used for direct validation of other AOT, such as those provided by satellite instruments.

Description: Based on in-situ observations performed during the Interhemispheric differences in cirrus properties from anthropogenic emissions (INCA) experiment, we introduce and discuss the cloud presence fraction (CPF) defined as the ratio between the number of data points determined to represent cloud at a given ambient relative humidity over ice (RHI) divided by the total number of data points at that value of RHI. The CPFs are measured with four different cloud probes. Within similar ranges of detected particle sizes and concentrations, it is shown that different cloud probes yield results that are in good agreement with each other. The CPFs taken at Southern Hemisphere (SH) and Northern Hemisphere (NH) midlatitudes differ from each other. Above ice saturation, clouds occurred more frequently during the NH campaign. Local minima in the CPF as a function of RHI are interpreted as a systematic underestimation of cloud presence when cloud particles become invisible to cloud probes. Based on this interpretation, we find that clouds during the SH campaign formed preferentially at RHIs between 140 and 155%, whereas clouds in the NH campaign formed at RHIs somewhat below 130%. The data show that interstitial aerosol and ice particles coexist down to RHIs of 70-90%, demonstrating that the ability to distinguish between different particle types in cirrus conditions depends on the sensors used to probe the aerosol/cirrus system. Observed distributions of cloud water content differ only slightly between the NH and SH campaigns and seem to be only weakly, if at all, affected by the freezing aerosols.

Description: Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), launched in July 2004, is dedicated to the monitoring of the Earth's ozone, air quality and climate. OMI is the successor of the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instruments and provides among other atmospheric and radiometric quantities the total column of ozone (TOC), the surface ultraviolet (UV) irradiance at several wavelengths, the erythemal dose rates and the erythemal daily doses. The main objective of this work is to compare OMI data with data from ground-based instruments in order to use OMI products (collection 2) for scientific studies. The Laboratoire d'Optique Atmosphérique (LOA) located in Villeneuve d'Ascq (VdA) in the north of France performs solar UV measurements using a spectroradiometer. The site of Briançon in the French Southern Alps is also equipped with a spectroradiometer operated by Interaction Rayonnement Solaire Atmosphère (IRSA). The OMI total ozone column data is obtained from the OMI-TOMS and OMI-DOAS algorithms. The comparison between the TOC retrieved with ground-based measurements and OMI-TOMS data shows good agreement at both sites for all sky conditions with a relative difference for most of points better than 5%. For OMI-DOAS data, the agreement is generally better than 7% and these data show a significant dependence on solar zenith angle. Comparisons of spectral UV on clear sky conditions are also satisfying with relative differences smaller than 10% except at solar zenith angles larger than 65°. On the contrary, results of comparisons of the erythemal dose rates and erythemal daily doses for clear sky show that OMI overestimates surface UV doses at VdA by about 15% and that on cloudy skies, the bias increases. At Briançon, such a bias is observed if data corresponding to snow-covered surface are excluded.

Description: Global and diffuse UV-visible solar irradiances are routinely measured since 2003 with a spectroradiometer operated by the Laboratoire d'Optique Atmosphérique (LOA) located in Villeneuve d'Ascq, France. The analysis of the direct irradiance derived by cloudless conditions enables retrieving the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) spectrum in the 330–450 nm range. The site hosts also sunphotometers from the AERONET/PHOTONS network performing routinely measurements of the AOT at several wavelengths. On one hand, comparisons between the spectroradiometer and the sunphotometer AOT at 440 nm as well as, when available, at 340 and 380 nm, show good agreement: in 2003–2005 at 440 nm the correlation coefficient, the slope and the intercept of the regression line are [0.97, 0.95, 0.025], and in 2006 at 440, 380 and 340 nm they are [0.97, 1.00, −0.013], [0.97, 0.98, −0.007], and [0.98, 0.98, −0.002] respectively. On the other hand, the AOT's spectral variations have been compared using the Angström exponents derived from AOT data at 340 and 440 nm for both instruments. The comparisons show that this parameter is difficult to retrieve accurately due to the small wavelength range and due to the weak AOT values. Thus, AOT derived at wavelengths outside the spectroradiometer range by means of an extrapolation using the Angström parameter would have large uncertainties, whereas spectroradiometer's spectral AOT could be used for direct validation of other AOT, such as those provided by satellite instruments.

Description: In order to test the validity of ultraviolet index (UVI) satellite products and UVI model simulations for general public information, intercomparison involving three satellite instruments (SCIAMACHY, OMI and GOME-2), the Chemistry and Transport Model, Modélisation de la Chimie Atmosphérique Grande Echelle (MOCAGE), and ground-based instruments was performed in 2008 and 2009. The intercomparison highlighted a systematic high bias of ~1 UVI in the OMI clear-sky products compared to the SCIAMACHY and TUV model clear-sky products. The OMI and GOME-2 all-sky products are close to the ground-based observations with a low 6 % positive bias, comparable to the results found during the satellite validation campaigns. This result shows that OMI and GOME-2 all-sky products are well appropriate to evaluate the UV-risk on health. The study has pointed out the difficulty to take into account either in the retrieval algorithms or in the models, the large spatial and temporal cloud modification effect on UV radiation. This factor is crucial to provide good quality UV information. OMI and GOME-2 show a realistic UV variability as a function of the cloud cover. Nevertheless these satellite products do not sufficiently take into account the radiation reflected by clouds. MOCAGE numerical forecasts show good results during periods with low cloud covers, but are actually not adequate for overcast conditions; this is why Météo-France currently uses human-expertised cloudiness (rather than direct outputs from Numerical Prediction Models) together with MOCAGE clear-sky UV indices for its operational forecasts. From now on, the UV monitoring could be done using free satellite products (OMI, GOME-2) and operational forecast for general public by using modelling, as long as cloud forecasts and the parametrisation of the impact of cloudiness on UV radiation are adequate.

Description: Aerosols from the Sarychev volcano eruption (Kuril Islands, northeast of Japan) were observed in the Arctic lower stratosphere a few days after the strongest SO2 injection which occurred on 15 and 16 June 2009. From the observations provided by the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) an estimated 0.9 Tg of sulphur dioxide was injected into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). The resultant stratospheric sulphate aerosols were detected from satellites by the Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imaging System (OSIRIS) limb sounder and by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and from the surface by the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Changes (NDACC) lidar deployed at OHP (Observatoire de Haute-Provence, France). By the first week of July the aerosol plume had spread out over the entire Arctic region. The Sarychev-induced stratospheric aerosol over the Kiruna region (north of Sweden) was measured by the Stratospheric and Tropospheric Aerosol Counter (STAC) during eight balloon flights planned in August and September 2009. During this balloon campaign the Micro Radiomètre Ballon (MicroRADIBAL) and the Spectroscopie d'Absorption Lunaire pour l'Observation des Minoritaires Ozone et NOx (SALOMON) remote-sensing instruments also observed these aerosols. Aerosol concentrations returned to near-background levels by spring 2010. The effective radius, the surface area density (SAD), the aerosol extinction, and the total sulphur mass from STAC in situ measurements are enhanced with mean values in the range 0.15–0.21 μm, 5.5–14.7 μm2 cm−3, 5.5–29.5 × 10−4 km−1, and 4.9–12.6 × 10−10 kg[S] kg−1[air], respectively, between 14 km and 18 km. The observed and modelled e-folding time of sulphate aerosols from the Sarychev eruption is around 70–80 days, a value much shorter than the 12–14 months calculated for aerosols from the 1991 eruption of Mt Pinatubo. The OSIRIS stratospheric aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 750 nm is enhanced by a factor of 6, with a value of 0.02 in late July compared to 0.0035 before the eruption. The HadGEM2 and MIMOSA model outputs indicate that aerosol layers in polar region up to 14–15 km are largely modulated by stratosphere–troposphere exchange processes. The spatial extent of the Sarychev plume is well represented in the HadGEM2 model with lower altitudes of the plume being controlled by upper tropospheric troughs which displace the plume downward and upper altitudes around 18–20 km, in agreement with lidar observations. Good consistency is found between the HadGEM2 sulphur mass density and the value inferred from the STAC observations, with a maximum located about 1 km above the tropopause ranging from 1 to 2 × 10−9 kg[S] kg−1[air], which is one order of magnitude higher than the background level.

Description: In order to test the validity of ultraviolet index (UVI) satellite products and UVI model simulations for general public information, intercomparison involving three satellite instruments (SCIAMACHY, OMI and GOME-2), the Chemistry and Transport Model, Modélisation de la Chimie Atmosphérique Grande Echelle (MOCAGE), and ground-based instruments was performed in 2008 and 2009. The intercomparison highlighted a systematic high bias of ~1 UVI in the OMI clear-sky products compared to the SCIAMACHY and TUV model clear-sky products. The OMI and GOME-2 all-sky products are close to the ground-based observations with a low 6 % positive bias, comparable to the results found during the satellite validation campaigns. This result shows that OMI and GOME-2 all-sky products are well appropriate to evaluate the UV-risk on health. The study has pointed out the difficulty to take into account either in the retrieval algorithms or in the models, the large spatial and temporal cloud modification effect on UV radiation. This factor is crucial to provide good quality UV information. OMI and GOME-2 show a realistic UV variability as a function of the cloud cover. Nevertheless these satellite products do not sufficiently take into account the radiation reflected by clouds. MOCAGE numerical forecasts show good results during periods with low cloud covers, but are actually not adequate for overcast conditions; this is why Météo-France currently uses human-expertised cloudiness (rather than direct outputs from Numerical Prediction Models) together with MOCAGE clear-sky UV indices for its operational forecasts. From now on, the UV monitoring could be done using free satellite products (OMI, GOME-2) and operational forecast for general public by using modelling, as long as cloud forecasts and the parametrisation of the impact of cloudiness on UV radiation are adequate.

Description: Aerosols from the Sarychev volcano eruption (Kuril Islands, northeast of Japan) were observed in the Arctic lower stratosphere a few days after the strongest SO2 injection which occurred on 15 and 16 June 2009. From the observations provided by the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) an estimated 0.9 Tg of sulphur dioxide was injected into the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UTLS). The resultant stratospheric sulphate aerosols were detected by the Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imaging System (OSIRIS) limb sounder and by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) satellite instruments. By the first week of July the aerosol plume had spread out over the entire Arctic region. The Sarychev-induced stratospheric aerosol over the Kiruna region (north of Sweden) was measured by the Stratospheric and Tropospheric Aerosol Counter (STAC) during eight balloon flights planned in August and September 2009. During this balloon campaign the Micro RADIomètre BALlon (MicroRADIBAL) and the Spectroscopie d'Absorption Lunaire pour l'Observation des Minoritaires Ozone et NOx (SALOMON) remote-sensing instruments also observed these aerosols. Aerosol concentrations returned to near-background levels by spring 2010. The effective radius, the Surface Area Density (SAD), the aerosol extinction, and the total sulphur mass from STAC in situ measurements are enhanced with mean values in the range 0.15–0.21 μm, 5.5–14.7 μm2 cm−3, 5.5–29.5×10−4 km−1, and 4.9–12.6×10−10 kg [S] kg−1 [air], respectively, between 14 km and 18 km. The observed and modelled e-folding time of sulphate aerosols from the Sarychev eruption is around 70–80 days, a value much shorter than the 12–14 months calculated for aerosols from the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. The OSIRIS stratospheric Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 750 nm is enhanced by a factor of 6 with a value of 0.02 in late July compared to 0.0035 before the eruption. The HadGEM2 and MIMOSA model outputs indicate that aerosol layers in polar region up to 14–15 km are largely modulated by stratosphere-troposphere exchange processes. The spatial extension of the Sarychev plume is well represented in the HadGEM2 model with lower altitudes of the plume being controlled by upper tropospheric troughs which displace the plume downward and upper altitudes around 18–20 km in agreement with lidar observations. A good consistency is found between the HadGEM2 sulphur mass density and the value inferred from the STAC observations with a maximum located about 1 km above the tropopause ranging from 1 to 2×10−9 kg [S] kg−1 [air], which is one order of magnitude higher than the background level.

Description: The Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment (ChArMEx; http://charmex.lsce.ipsl.fr) is a collaborative research program federating international activities to investigate Mediterranean regional chemistry-climate interactions. A special observing period (SOP-1a) including intensive airborne measurements was performed in the framework of the Aerosol Direct Radiative Forcing on the Mediterranean Climate (ADRIMED) project during the Mediterranean dry season over the western and central Mediterranean basins, with a focus on aerosol-radiation measurements and their modeling. The SOP-1a took place from 11 June to 5 July 2013. Airborne measurements were made by both the ATR-42 and F-20 French research aircraft operated from Sardinia (Italy) and instrumented for in situ and remote-sensing measurements, respectively, and by sounding and drifting balloons, launched in Minorca. The experimental set-up also involved several ground-based measurement sites on islands including two ground-based reference stations in Corsica and Lampedusa and secondary monitoring sites in Minorca and Sicily. Additional measurements including lidar profiling were also performed on alert during aircraft operations at EARLINET/ACTRIS stations at Granada and Barcelona in Spain, and in southern Italy. Remote sensing aerosol products from satellites (MSG/SEVIRI, MODIS) and from the AERONET/PHOTONS network were also used. Dedicated meso-scale and regional modelling experiments were performed in relation to this observational effort. We provide here an overview of the different surface and aircraft observations deployed during the ChArMEx/ADRIMED period and of associated modeling studies together with an analysis of the synoptic conditions that determined the aerosol emission and transport. Meteorological conditions observed during this campaign (moderate temperatures and southern flows) were not favorable to produce high level of atmospheric pollutants nor intense biomass burning events in the region. However, numerous mineral dust plumes were observed during the campaign with main sources located in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, leading to aerosol optical depth (AOD) values ranging between 0.2 to 0.6 (at 440 nm) over the western and central Mediterranean basins. Associated aerosol extinction values measured on-board the ATR-42 within the dust plume show local maxima reaching up to 150 Mm−1. Non negligible aerosol extinction (about 50 Mm−1) was also been observed within the Marine Boundary Layer (MBL). By combining ATR-42 extinction, absorption and scattering measurements, a complete optical closure has been made revealing excellent agreement with estimated optical properties. Associated calculations of the dust single scattering albedo (SSA) have been conducted, which show a moderate variability (from 0.90 to 1.00 at 530 nm). In parallel, active remote-sensing observations from the surface and onboard the F-20 aircraft suggest a complex vertical structure of particles and distinct aerosol layers with sea-salt and pollution located within the MBL, and mineral dust and/or aged north American smoke particles located above (up to 6–7 km in altitude). Aircraft and balloon-borne observations show particle size distributions characterized by large aerosols (〉 10 μm in diameter) within dust plumes. In terms of shortwave (SW) direct forcing, in-situ surface and aircraft observations have been merged and used as inputs in 1-D radiative transfer codes for calculating the direct radiative forcing (DRF). Results show significant surface SW instantaneous forcing (up to −90 W m−2 at noon). Associated 3-D modeling studies from regional climate (RCM) and chemistry transport (CTM) models indicate a relatively good agreement for simulated AOD compared with measurements/observations from the AERONET/PHOTONS network and satellite data, especially for long-range dust transport. Calculations of the 3-D SW (clear-sky) surface DRF indicate an average of about −10 to −20 W m−2 (for the whole period) over the Mediterranean Sea together with maxima (−50 W m−2) over northern Africa. The top of the atmosphere (TOA) DRF is shown to be highly variable within the domain, due to moderate absorbing properties of dust and changes in the surface albedo. Indeed, 3-D simulations indicate negative forcing over the Mediterranean Sea and Europe and positive forcing over northern Africa.