ALADIN Observations of Aerosol Optical Properties and their Use For Atmospheric Research
Ansmann, Albert¹; Huber, Dorit^2
1Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, (TROPOS), GERMANY; ²DoRIT, GERMANY

With the start of the CALIPSO mission in the summer of 2006, a continuous 4-D mapping of the global aerosol distribution began and is expected to last for the next 5-10 years, provided ESA's Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM) and Earth Clouds, Aerosols , and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) Mission will begin in 2015-2017. ESA's two High Spectral Resolution Lidars (HSRL) will allow us to continue the aerosol mapping in a much better way than presently performed with the standard backscatter lidar CALIOP (NASA's CALIPSO lidar). The lidars ALADIN (ADM) and ATLID (EarthCARE) permit us to measure, for the first time, height profiles of the particle extinction coefficient and the extinction-to-backscatter ratio (lidar ratio) and thus permit a much better optical characterization including aerosol type classification than CALIOP. The potential of the wind Doppler lidar ALADIN to separately measure height profiles of the particle backscatter and extinction coefficients, and lidar ratio at 355 nm was studied by means of simulations based on measured space lidar observations (Laser In-Space Technology Experiment (LITE) scenarios). Of essential importance in the retrieval is the accurate consideration (and correction) of wind-induced wavelength shifts and cross-talk effects (Mie signal contribution in the Rayleigh channels). A comprehensive uncertainty analysis for ALADIN was performed. Our simulations (TROPOS model) have also been compared with results obtained with the Standard Correct Algorithm (SCA) developed by Meteo France. The SCA will be used for routine automated aerosol retrievals during the ALADIN flight. Good agreement between the different results obtained with the TROPOS and SCA retrieval schemes are found. The results will be discussed at the symposium and it will be shown how such HSRL observations improve the global aerosol characterization.