Characterizing Multispectral Vertical Profiles of Aerosol Extinction with Surface-Based Measurements

Aerosols play a vital role in Earth’s surface-atmosphere radiation balance whether through direct absorption and scatter or indirectly by way of cloud formation and droplet size interactions, which in turn have inherent radiative forcing implications. Remote sensors, whether carried on satellite or unmanned air vehicle, monitor air quality, weather, and climate anchored largely on calibration routines using derived total vertical column aerosol optical depth and assumed aerosol single scattering albedo. The latter frequently rely on standard atmospheric models and worldwide networks of unevenly distributed sun photometers without regard to temporal and mesoscale atmospheric processes and associated discrete, local vertical size distributions of aerosols and associated optical effects. This research integrates advanced, but cost-effective, micro-meteorological and ultra-fine/fine aerosol size number concentration observations with a verified and validated, first-principles atmospheric characterization and radiative transfer package, the Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference (LEEDR), as well as Global Forecast System (GFS) gridded numerical weather prediction (NWP) data. LEEDR additionally provides a global, probabilistic climatological database of meteorological and aerosol optical properties that can supplement the NWP information. The research demonstrates the feasibility of current, site-specific, high-fidelity vertical resolution of multi-spectral aerosol optical effects anywhere on the globe irrespective of time of day or sky condition. This in turn should enhance the accuracy of line of sight remote sensor measurements, local and regional air quality monitoring, and climate research.