Study of MPLNET-derived aerosol climatology over Kanpur, India, and validation of CALIPSO level 2 version 3 backscatter and extinction products

Abstract

The level 2 aerosol backscatter and extinction profiles fromthe NASAMicropulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) atKanpur, India, have been studied fromMay 2009 to September 2010.Monthly averaged extinction profiles from MPLNET shows high extinction values near the surface during October-March. Higher extinction values at altitudes of 2-4 km are observed fromApril to June, a period marked by frequent dust episodes. Version 3 level 2 Cloud-Aerosol LidarwithOrthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aerosol profile products have been comparedwith corresponding data from MPLNET over Kanpur for the above-mentioned period. Out of the available backscatter profiles, the16 profiles used in this study have time differences less than 3 h and distances less than 130 km. Among these profiles, four cases show good comparison above 400 m with R 2 greater than 0.7. Comparison with AERONET data shows that the aerosol type is properly identified by the CALIOP algorithm. Cloud contamination is a possible source of error in the remaining cases of poor comparison. Another source of error is the improper backscatter-to-extinction ratio, which further affects the accuracy of extinction coefficient retrieval. © 2012 American Meteorological Society.