Guangyao Dai

Mobile multi-wavelength polarization Raman lidar for water vapor, cloud and aerosol measurement

Aiming at the detection of atmospheric water vapor mixing ratio, depolarization ratio, backscatter coefficient, extinction coefficient and cloud information, the Water vapor, Cloud and Aerosol Lidar (WACAL) is developed by the lidar group at Ocean University of China. The lidar consists of transmitter, receiver, data acquisition and auxiliary system. For the measurement of various atmospheric physical properties, three channels including Raman channel, polarization channel and infrared channel are integrated in WACAL. The integration and working principle of these channels are introduced in details. The optical setup, the housekeeping of the system and the data retrieval routines are also presented. After the completion of the construction of the lidar, the WACAL system was installed in Ocean University of China (36.165°N, 120.5°E), Qingdao for the measurement of atmosphere during 2013 and 2014. The measurement principles and some case studies corresponding to various atmospheric physical properties are provided. Finally, the result of one continuous measurement example operated on 13 June 2014 is presented. The WACAL can measure the aerosol and cloud optical properties as well as the water vapor mixing ratio. It is useful for studying the direct and indirect effects of the aerosol on the climate change.

Comprehensive radar observations of clouds and precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau and preliminary analysis of cloud properties

Intensive field experiment is an important approach to obtain microphysical information about clouds and precipitation. From 1 July to 31 August 2014, the third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Science Experiment was carried out and comprehensive measurements of water vapor, clouds, and precipitation were conducted at Naqu. The most advanced radars in China, such as Ka-band millimeter-wave cloud radar, Ku-band micro-rain radar, C-band continuous-wave radar and lidar, and microwave radiometer and disdrometer were deployed to observe high spatial-temporal vertical structures of clouds and precipitation. The C-band duallinear polarization radar was coordinated with the China new generation weather radar to constitute a dual- Doppler radar system for the measurements of three-dimensional wind fields within convective precipitations and the structure and evolution of hydrometeors related to precipitation process. Based on the radar measurements in this experiment, the diurnal variations of several important cloud properties were analyzed, including cloud top and base, cloud depth, cloud cover, number of cloud layers, and their vertical structures during summertime over Naqu. The features of reflectivity, velocity, and depolarization ratio for different types of clouds observed by cloud radar are discussed. The results indicate that the cloud properties were successfully measured by using various radars in this field experiment. During the summertime over Naqu, most of the clouds were located above 6 km and below 4 km above ground level. Statistical analysis shows that total amounts of clouds, the top of high-level clouds, and cloud depth, all demonstrated a distinct diurnal variation. Few clouds formed at 1000 LST (local standard time), whereas large amounts of clouds formed at 2000 LST. Newly formed cumulus and stratus clouds were often found at 3-km height, where there existed significant updrafts. Deep convection reached up to 16.5 km (21 km above the mean sea level), and updrafts and downdrafts coexisted in the convective system. Supercooled water might exist in such kinds of deep convective system. The above measurements and preliminary analysis provide a basis for further study of cloud physics and precipitation process over the Tibetan Plateau. These observations are also valuable for modeling studies of cloud and precipitation physics as well as in the development of parameterization schemes in numerical prediction models.

Depolarization Ratio Profiles Calibration and Observations of Aerosol and Cloud in the Tibetan Plateau Based on Polarization Raman Lidar

A brief description of the Water vapor, Cloud and Aerosol Lidar (WACAL) system is provided. To calibrate the volume linear depolarization ratio, the concept of “ Δ 90 ° -calibration” is applied in this study. This effective and accurate calibration method is adjusted according to the design of WACAL. Error calculations and analysis of the gain ratio, calibrated volume linear depolarization ratio and particle linear depolarization ratio are provided as well. In this method, the influences of the gain ratio, the rotation angle of the plane of polarization and the polarizing beam splitter are discussed in depth. Two groups of measurements with half wave plate (HWP) at angles of (0 ° , 45 ° ) and (22.5 ° , −22.5 ° ) are operated to calibrate the volume linear depolarization ratio. Then, the particle linear depolarization ratios measured by WACAL and CALIOP (the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) during the simultaneous observations were compared. Good agreements are found. The calibration method was applied in the third Tibetan Plateau Experiment of Atmospheric Sciences (TIPEX III) in 2013 and 2014 in China. Vertical profiles of the particle depolarization ratio of clouds and aerosol in the Tibetan Plateau were measured with WACAL in Litang (30.03° N, 100.28° E, 3949 m above sea level (a.s.l.)) in 2013 and Naqu (31.48° N, 92.06° E, 4508 m a.s.l.) in 2014. Then an analysis on the polarizing properties of the aerosol, clouds and cirrus over the Tibetan Plateau is provided. The particle depolarization ratio of cirrus clouds varies from 0.36 to 0.52, with a mean value of 0.44 ± 0.04. Cirrus clouds occurred between 5.2 and 12 km above ground level (a.g.l.). The cloud thickness ranges from 0.12 to 2.55 km with a mean thickness of 1.22 ± 0.70 km. It is found that the particle depolarization ratio of cirrus clouds become larger as the height increases. However, the increase rate of the particle depolarization ratio becomes smaller as the height increases.

Shipborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar for Aerosol optical properties and wind profile measurements

The Compact High-Power Shipborne Doppler Wind Lidar (CHiPSDWiL) based on high-spectral-resolution technique has been developed for the measurement of the wind field and the properties of the aerosol and clouds in the troposphere.

Research in depolarization of particles in Tibetan Plateau and coastal area by lidar

Vertical profiles of the linear particle depolarization ratio p δ of cloud and aerosol in the Tibet Plateau were measured during the Tibetan Plateau atmospheric expedition experiment campaign with water vapor, cloud and aerosol lidar system, which is capable of depolarization ratio measurement. The atmospheric comprehensive observations were performed during July of 2013 at Litang (30.03°N,100.28°E), which is 3949 meters above the mean sea level, Sichuan province, China. It was the first time to detect and obtain the Tibetan Plateau cloud and aerosol lidar depolarization profiles to our knowledge. After completing the plateau experiment campaign, the lidar system measured the atmosphere above coastal area in Qingdao (36.165°N,120.4956°E). In this year, we continued to participate in the plateau experiment campaign in Nagchu (31.5°N,92.05°E), which is 4600 meters above the mean sea level, The Tibet Autonomous Region from 1st, July to 1st, September. Since particle size, shape and refractive index have an impact on linear particle depolarization ratio, one can classify the aerosol types and cloud phase in turn in the Tibetan Plateau and Qingdao area using linear particle depolarization ratio data. Generally, two calibration methods were applied: comparison of the lidar measurement data and CALIPSO simultaneous data method and half-wave plate ±45°switch method. In this paper we applied the comparison calibration method. The correlation coefficient between lidar measurement data and CALIPSO data reaches up to 84.92%, which shows great linear relation. Finally, after the calculation and calibration of the linear particle depolarization ratio measured during the plateau experiment campaign and observation in coastal area, the ice-water mixed cloud (0.15< p δ <0.5), water cloud ( p δ <0.15) and dusty mix(0.2< p δ <0.35) in Tibetan Plateau were occurred and classified. Meanwhile, the cirrus clouds ( p δ <0.5), water cloud, smoke and urban pollution (0.05< p δ <0.2) and dusty mix in Qingdao area were also occurred and classified.