AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
HSRL-2 Observations of Aerosol Variability and Mixing During Boundary Layer Evolution in Houston
SHARON P. BURTON, Amy Jo Scarino, Raymond R. Rogers, Chris Hostetler, Richard Ferrare, Timothy A. Berkoff, David B. Harper, Anthony L. Cook, Pablo Saide, NASA Langley Research Center
Abstract Number: 122 Working Group: Air Quality and Climate in the Southeast US: Insights from Recent Measurement Campaigns
Abstract The NASA Langley airborne multi-wavelength High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL-2) provides information on the vertical distribution of aerosol optical properties in the form of vertical “curtains” of aerosol extinction, backscatter and depolarization along the flight track. Deployed aboard the NASA Langley King Air on the DISCOVER-AQ field mission in Houston in September 2013, HSRL-2 flew a pattern that included 18 ground sites, repeated four times a day. These flights were coordinated with another aircraft making extensive in situ measurements. The horizontally and vertically resolved curtains of HSRL-2 backscatter and other measurements give an unparalleled view of the vertical, horizontal and temporal variability of aerosol and can provide a broader context for interpreting measurements from other instruments. The measurements of aerosol extinction, backscatter, and depolarization are also used to infer aerosol type (smoke, marine, urban, dust, etc.) and external mixing of aerosol of different types. During the DISCOVER-AQ Houston deployment, the four-day period between September 11 and September 14 was notable for a significant aerosol build-up and persistent smoke layers in the free troposphere. HSRL-2 generally observed significant horizontal and vertical variability in the morning with a relatively low boundary layer, a residual layer, and frequent upper layers of transported smoke. Each afternoon, the boundary layer grew and became more homogeneous and many of the upper layers became mixed with the boundary layer. Here we investigate the mixing and evolution of aerosols in the free troposphere and boundary layer over this period using the HSRL-2 vertically resolved measurements.