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ACE-Asia Aerosol Optical Depth and Water Vapor Measured by Airborne Sunphotometers and Related to Other Measurements and CalculationsIn the Spring 2001 phase of the Asian Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-Asia), the 6-channel NASA Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS-6) operated on 15 of the 19 research flights of the NCAR C-130, while its 14-channel counterpart (AATS- 14) flew successfully on all 18 research flights of the CIRPAS Twin Otter. ACE-Asia studied aerosol outflow from the Asian continent to the Pacific basin. It was designed to integrate suborbital and satellite measurements and models so as to reduce the uncertainty in calculations of the climate forcing due to aerosols. AATS-6 and AATS-14 measured solar beam transmission at 6 and 14 wavelengths (380-1021 and 354-1558 nm, respectively), yielding aerosol optical depth (AOD) spectra and column water vapor (CWV). Vertical differentiation in profiles yielded aerosol extinction spectra and water vapor concentration. The wavelength dependence of these AOD and extinction spectra indicates that supermicron dust was often a major component of the ACE-Asia aerosol. Frequently this dust-containing aerosol extended to high altitudes. For example, in AATS- 14 profiles analyzed to date, 36% of full-column AOD at 525 nm was above 3 km. In contrast, only 10% of CWV was above 3 km. Analyses and applications of AATS-6 and AATS-14 data to date include comparisons to (i) extinction products derived using in situ measurements, (ii) extinction profiles derived from lidar measurements, and (iii) AOD retrievals from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR) aboard the TERRA satellite. Other planned collaborative studies include comparisons to results from size spectrometers, chemical measurements, other satellite sensors, flux radiometers, and chemical transport models. Early results of these studies will be presented.
Document ID
20020038573
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Livingston, John M.
Russell, P. B.
Schmid, B.
Redemann, J.
Eilers, J. A.
Ramirez, S. A.
Kahn, R.
Hegg, D.
Pilewskie, P.
Anderson, T.
Hipskind, R. Stephen
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2001
Subject Category
Space Radiation
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting
Country: United States
Start Date: December 10, 2001
End Date: December 14, 2001
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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