Shi Kuang

Differential Absorption Lidar to Measure Subhourly Variation of Tropospheric Ozone Profiles

A tropospheric ozone Differential Absorption Lidar system, developed jointly by The University of Alabama in Huntsville and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is making regular observations of ozone vertical distributions between 1 and 8 km with two receivers under both daytime and nighttime conditions using lasers at 285 and 291 nm. This paper describes the lidar system and analysis technique with some measurement examples. An iterative aerosol correction procedure reduces the retrieval error arising from differential aerosol backscatter in the lower troposphere. Lidar observations with coincident ozonesonde flights demonstrate that the retrieval accuracy ranges from better than 10% below 4 km to better than 20% below 8 km with 750-m vertical resolution and 10-min temporal integration.

Ground-based lidar for atmospheric boundary layer ozone measurements

Ground-based lidars are suitable for long-term ozone monitoring as a complement to satellite and ozonesonde measurements. However, current ground-based lidars are unable to consistently measure ozone below 500 m above ground level (AGL) due to both engineering issues and high retrieval sensitivity to various measurement errors. In this paper, we present our instrument design, retrieval techniques, and preliminary results that focus on the high-temporal profiling of ozone within the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) achieved by the addition of an inexpensive and compact mini-receiver to the previous system. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, the lowest, consistently achievable observation height has been extended down to 125 m AGL for a ground-based ozone lidar system. Both the analysis and preliminary measurements demonstrate that this lidar measures ozone with a precision generally better than ±10% at a temporal resolution of 10 min and a vertical resolution from 150 m at the bottom of the ABL to 550 m at the top. A measurement example from summertime shows that inhomogeneous ozone aloft was affected by both surface emissions and the evolution of ABL structures.

Ground based high spectral resolution lidar observation of aerosol vertical distribution in the summertime Southeast United States

As part of the Southeast United States based Studies of Emissions & Atmospheric Composition, Clouds & Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS), and collinear with part of the Southeast Atmosphere Study (SAS), the University of Wisconsin High Spectral Resolution Lidar (UW-HSRL) system was deployed to the University of Alabama from June 19th through November 4th, 2013. With a collocated Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AERONET) sun photometer, a nearby Chemical Speciation Network (PM2.5) measurement station, and near daily ozonesonde releases for the August-September SEAC4RS campaign, the site allowed the regions first comprehensive diurnal monitoring of aerosol particle vertical structure. A 532 nm lidar ratio of 55 sr provided good closure between aerosol backscatter and AERONET Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT). A principle component analysis was performed to identify key modes of variability in aerosol backscatter. “Fair weather” days exhibited classic planetary boundary layer (PBL) structure of a mixed layer accounting for ~50% of AOT and an entrainment zone providing another 25%. An additional 5-15% of variance is gained from the lower free troposphere from either convective detrainment or frequent intrusions of Western United States biomass burning smoke. Generally aerosol particles were contained below the 0o C level, a common level of stability in convective regimes. However, occasional strong injections of smoke to the upper troposphere were also observed, accounting for the remaining 10-15% variability in AOT. Examples of these common modes of variability in frontal and convective regimes are presented, demonstrating why AOT often has only a weak relationship to surface PM2.5 concentration.

Summertime tropospheric ozone enhancement associated with a cold front passage due to stratosphere‐to‐troposphere transport and biomass burning: Simultaneous ground‐based lidar and airborne measurements

Stratosphere-to-troposphere transport (STT) and biomass burning (BB) are two important natural sources for tropospheric ozone that can result in elevated ozone and air-quality episode events. High-resolution observations of multiple related species are critical for complex ozone source attribution. In this article, we present an analysis of coinciding ground-based and airborne observations, including ozone lidar, ozonesonde, high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL), and multiple airborne in situ measurements, made on 28 and 29 June 2013 during the Southeast Nexus field campaign. The ozone lidar and HSRL reveal detailed ozone and aerosol structures as well as the temporal evolution associated with a cold front passage. The observations also captured two enhanced (+30 ppbv) ozone layers in the free troposphere (FT), which were determined from this study to be caused by a mixture of BB and stratospheric sources. The mechanism for this STT is tropopause folding associated with a cutoff upper level low-pressure system according to the analysis of its potential vorticity structure. The depth of the tropopause fold appears to be shallow for this case compared to events observed in other seasons; however, the impact on lower tropospheric ozone was clearly observed. This event suggests that strong STT may occur in the southeast United States during the summer and can potentially impact lower troposphere during these times. Statistical analysis of the airborne observations of trace gases suggests a coincident influence of BB transport in the FT impacting the vertical structure of ozone during this case study.

Ozone Variability and Anomalies Observed During SENEX and SEAC4RS Campaigns in 2013

Tropospheric ozone variability occurs because of multiple forcing factors including surface emission of ozone precursors, stratosphere-to-troposphere transport (STT), and meteorological conditions. Analyses of ozonesonde observations made in Huntsville, AL, during the peak ozone season (May to September) in 2013 indicate that ozone in the planetary boundary layer was significantly lower than the climatological average, especially in July and August when the Southeastern United States (SEUS) experienced unusually cool and wet weather. Because of a large influence of the lower stratosphere, however, upper-tropospheric ozone was mostly higher than climatology, especially from May to July. Tropospheric ozone anomalies were strongly anti-correlated (or correlated) with water vapor (or temperature) anomalies with a correlation coefficient mostly about 0.6 throughout the entire troposphere. The regression slopes between ozone and temperature anomalies for surface up to mid-troposphere are within 3.0-4.1 ppbv·K-1. The occurrence rates of tropospheric ozone laminae due to STT are ≥50% in May and June and about 30% in July, August and September suggesting that the stratospheric influence on free-tropospheric ozone could be significant during early summer. These STT laminae have a mean maximum ozone enhancement over the climatology of 52±33% (35±24 ppbv) with a mean minimum relative humidity of 2.3±1.7%.