Multipurpose use of ceilometer: Estimating visibility, rain occurrence, aerosol property

Poster PDF

Description

Recording meteorological events is the most basic but important task for atmospheric observations. For instance, visibility recording is crucial for fog research since it is the major component of detecting fogs. Although there is no doubt that the visual observation by a person is the best way to log temporal changes in meteorological events, it is hard to expect for all observation site to have such record in a continuous manner. One of the ways to complement the absence of visual observation is to use remote sensing instruments. Here we propose a method to estimate visibility and aerosol mass concentration, and to detect precipitation based ceilometer backscatter profiles. The data used in this study are collected from the ARM supported ENA site located at Graciosa Island in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, and another ARM supported MAO site located at Manacapuru, Brazil. Additional data come from the National Center for Intensive Observation (NCIO), newly established observational site located at southern coastal area of South Korea. Because visibility meter and humidity sensor were also installed at these three sites, we also calculated a relative humidity dependence of Lidar ratio. Since the environment of those sites are distinctly different, Lidar ratio dependency on relative humidity is compared, which depends on types of the aerosols. Detailed methods, results, and comparisons of this useful application will be presented in the meeting.