Comparison of CALIOP level 2 aerosol subtypes to aerosol types derived from AERONET inversion data

Abstract

Identification of aerosol types is important, because different aerosol types have different effects on health, visibility and climate change. The space-borne lidar CALIOP on-board the CALIPSO satellite provides information on the types of aerosols in the separate layers that can be detected with this instrument. In this study, the aerosol subtypes of CALIOP measurements are compared with daily aerosol types derived from AERONET level 2.0 inversion data. AERONET aerosol types are categorized by single scattering albedo and Ångström exponent values. The comparison shows that 70% of the CALIOP and AERONET aerosol types are in agreement. Best agreement is achieved for dust and polluted dust types. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.