Comparing Simulated Measurements of Aerosol from a Ground-based Lidar and the Aerosol Limb Imager on HAWC

Aerosols play an important role in Earth’s radiative balance, however, considerable uncertainty remains on their overall climate impact. The Aerosol Limb Imager (ALI) is a satellite instrument that will provide high-sensitivity measurements of aerosol in the upper troposphere and stratosphere. These aerosol layers are variable due to the influences of forest fires and volcanic eruptions. ALI will be on the High-Altitude Aerosols, Water Vapour and Clouds (HAWC) Canadian satellite which is a part of the NASA-led Atmosphere Observing System (AOS). I am investigating the integration of ALI with ground-based remote-sensing measurements from The Canadian Micro-Pulse Lidar Network (MPLCAN). MPLCAN consists of seven micro-pulse lidars (MPLs) across Canada. The MPLs can detect aerosols produced from wildfire smoke, volcanic ash, dust sources, and anthropogenic pollutants. MPLCAN has potential to validate ALI measurements and extend their vertical coverage. I will present simulated coincident measurements from ALI and MPLCAN for various atmospheric conditions including a wildfire smoke layer. The ALI retrieved quantities are not directly comparable to the MPL backscatter coefficient measurements, so assumptions must be made about the constituents and optical properties of the atmosphere to compare them. The ALI retrieved quantities were converted to a MPL backscatter measurement using two methods. First, Mie scattering theory was used based on the ALI retrievals of aerosol particle size to calculate the backscatter coefficient. The second method used a lidar ratio from literature to convert from ALI extinction to backscatter.