Data / Science Data Products / VAPs

LIDARAEROMASK

aerosol feature mask

Evaluation VAP

Aerosol feature masks are derived from ARM lidar measurements to provide vertically resolved aerosol feature identification. The Lidar AEROsol feature MASK value-added product (LIDARAEROMASK VAP) uses thresholds of lidar scattering ratios, i.e., the ratio of the total backscatter coefficient to the molecular backscattering coefficient, to identify aerosol features, following the method developed by Thorsen et al. (2015). The output data are at a 30-second temporal resolution and 30-meter vertical resolution. In addition, aerosol-layer boundaries are determined for up to 10 aerosol layers using vertically resolved aerosol feature masks. During cloudy conditions, aerosol masks are only identified below the lowest cloud base, as determined by the Active Remote Sensing of CLouds (ARSCL) VAP.

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The first release of this VAP uses high-spectral-resolution lidar (HSRL) data to create the product HSRLAEROMASK. In the future, micropulse and Raman lidar data will also be used to produce the VAP.

Researchers can use the VAP to study the vertical distributions of aerosol layers and aerosol-cloud interactions.

Although lidar signals are sensitive to aerosol particles, the VAP is not able to detect extremely low aerosol loadings. In addition, it is a challenge for the VAP to detect small aerosol particles and related aerosol events, e.g., new particle formation events.

Reference: Thorsen TJ, Q Fu, RK Newsom, DD Turner, and JM Comstock. 2015. “Automated Retrieval of Cloud and Aerosol Properties from the ARM Raman Lidar. Part I: Feature Detection.” Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 32(11), doi:10.1175/jtech-d-14-00150.1.