max doas observations in wuxi (china) using independent...

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Validation of cloud and aerosol classification results based on three years MAX-DOAS observations in Wuxi (China) using independent data sets Yang Wang 1 ( Email: [email protected] ), Thomas Wagner 1 , Pinhua Xie 2 , Steffen Beirle 1 , Steffen Dörner 1 , Julia Remmers 1 , Ang Li 2 1) Max-Planck institute for Chemistry, satellite group, Mainz, Germany 2) Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China Abstract Multi-Axis-Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations of trace gases can be strongly influenced by clouds and aerosols. Thus it is important to identify clouds and characterise their properties. In the former work (Wagner et al. 2013) we found the colour index, radiance and O4 absorption from MAX-DOAS measurements are sensitive to the prop- erties of cloud and aerosol and built a sophisticated classification scheme. In this work we fur- ther improved the identification of clouds and aerosol for each elevation sequence of MAX- DOAS based on three years of measurements (2011 to 2013) in Wuxi, China (31.57°N, 120.31°E). The cloud classification results were verified by comparing with other cloud or aerosol data sets such as the aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the AERONET Taihu monitor- ing site (31.42° N, 120.22° E), MODIS Level 2 cloud products and cloud parameters in level 2b productions of OMI and GOME-2 from TEMIS. We find good agreement with the MAX- DOAS cloud classification using statistical analyses. Based on the results of MAX-DOAS cloud classification, we investigate the validation of tropospheric NO 2 VCD from OMI with the clouds tropospheric NO 2 VCD from MAX-DOAS. The flags of sky conditions provide more information on the validation of satellite productions by MAX-DOAS observations. Cloud classification scheme of MAX-DOAS Motivation The effects of sky conditions (clear sky, continuous clouds, broken clouds and high aerosol load) on MAX-DOAS measurements are quite different. It is necessary for processing or interpolation of MAX-DOAS data to flag the sky conditions for each measurement. It is helpful to precisely validate the tropospheric vertical column density from satellite products in different sky conditions. We want to build a convincing scheme to derive cloud and aerosol information (sky con- ditions) from the individual MAX-DOAS observations Quantity for cloud classification abbrevi- ation thresh old Normalized CI (340nm/420nm) for zenith view n z CI 0.9 Normalized temporal smoothness indicator of CI for zenith view n z TSI 8×10 -8 s -2 Sum of normalized temporal smoothness indi- cator of CI for non-zenith view n L TSI 2.5× 10 -7 spread of the CI Spread CI 0.3 Normalized O 4 AMF 4 n O AMF 0.8 Normalized radiance at 380 nm Radian- ce n 0.9 spread of the O 4 dAMF Spread O 4 0.4 The classification scheme is based on seven quantities deduced from the radiance, CI and O 4 absorption observed by MAX-DOAS. The seven quantities are shown in the table 1. Based on the quantities, we built this scheme in figure 1. Its left column show the determinations and the right blue column show the deduced sky conditions. We identify the sky conditions by comparing the quantities from individual MAX-DOAS observations with their corre- sponding reference values in clear sky. The scheme include two kinds of classifications. One is primary classifications indicated by the black arrows and another one is additional classifica- tions indicated by the blue arrows. Note that The sky condition for each MAX-DOAS meas- urement should belong to one primary classification. In addition to the primary classification additional secondary classifications can be assigned. Validation of the scheme based on MAX-DOAS Measure- ments in Wuxi, China MAX-DOAS: The measurements are operated from 1 May 2011 to 29 Nov 2013 with 5 elevation angles (5°, 10°, 20°, 30° and 90°), azimuth angle is 0 °(north) Other techniques for comparisons with MAX-DOAS: 1.Visibilitymeter: the visibility at 550 nm 2.Aeronet: The AOD is available from sun photometer operated at Taihu about 18 km west-south away from the Wuxi MAX-DOAS site. 3.effective cloud fraction form OMI, GOME-2 4.geometrical CF from MODIS 5.cloud optical thickness from MODIS Validation of the scheme based on MAX-DOAS Meas- urements in Wuxi, China 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% percent of sky conditions (a) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 AOD at 340 nm number of sky conditions clear with low aerosol strong visibal absorption clear with high aerosol zenith cloud holes offzenith cloud holes broken clouds continuous clouds exceptional continuous clouds fog "or" thick clouds "and" thick clouds 0 10 20 30 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% visibility at 550 nm numbers of sky conditions (b) 0 10 20 30 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 percent of sky conditions 0 20 40 60 80 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250% effective CF from OMI number of sky conditions percent of sky conditions (c) 0 20 40 60 80 0 50 100 150 200 0 20 40 60 80 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250% 300% 0 20 40 60 80 0 50 100 150 200 (d) effective CF from GOME-2 number of sky conditions percent of sky conditions 0 20 40 60 80 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250% number of sky conditions percent of sky conditions geometrical CF from MYD 0 20 40 60 80 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 (e) 0 20 40 60 80 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250% numbers of sky conditions percent of sky conditions 0 20 40 60 80 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 (f) geometrical CF from MOD 0 20 40 60 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250% number of sky conditions 0 20 40 60 80 0 100 200 300 400 500 (g) percent of sky conditions COT from MYD 0 20 40 60 0% 100% 200% 300% 400% numbers of sky conditions percent of sky conditions COT from MOD 0 20 40 60 80 0 100 200 300 400 500 (h) VCD from geometrical method of MAX- DOAS measurements VCD from profile retrieval process of MAX-DOAS measurements statement R 2 slope Point number R 2 slope Point number All points 0.6585 1.3717 203 0.578 1.213 142 CF<0.3 0.7095 1.401 115 0.567 1.074 92 CF<0.2 0.754 1.34 98 0.763 1.050 86 CF<0.1 0.842 1.298 72 0.834 1.033 68 Clear with low aerosol 0.839 1.202 30 0.821 1.048 28 Clear with high aerosol 0.8111 1.4427 9 0.909 1.057 9 Cloud holes 0.82842 1.3031 46 0.639 1.295 61 Broken clouds 0.7012 1.237 67 0.685 1.166 38 Continuous clouds 0.5424 1.790 58 0.7868 2.098 11 Each MAX-DOAS measure- ment (elevation sequence) is assigned by one sky condi- tions identified by the scheme in figure 1 in the period from 1 May 2011 to 29 Nov 2013. The identified sky conditions in the sample days are shown in Fig. 3. Overall the deduced sky conditions are consistent to the one identified by MODIS images and Aeronet. In detail the variation of sky condition on one day is rapid. The comparison of the sky conditions identified by MAX-DOAS with the AOD from Aeronet, the visibility from visibility meter and cloud productions from MODIS, OMI and GOME-2 confirm believability of the classification scheme in Figure 4. The identified sky conditions are in good agreement with the AOD from Aeronet, visibility from visibilitymeter and the effective CF from OMI and GOME- 2, but inconsistent with the geometrical CF from MODIS and CRF from GOME-2. This feature implies this scheme can reasonably identify the sky condition and its sensitivity is depended on the cloud optical thickness. This dependence is further proved by the comparison with COT from MODIS. The tropospheric NO 2 VCDs are retrieved using geometrical method and using pro- file retrieval process from MAX-DOAS observations, respectively. Then the two kinds of VCDs from MAX-DOAS are compared with the NO 2 tropospheric VCD from TEMIS of OMI in different scenarios of cloud fraction or sky conditions (see ta- ble 2). Profile retrieval process makes the slopes (MAX-DOAS VCD against satellite VCD) much more close to one than geometrical method, especially in the condition of clear with high aerosol. Summary 1.The sky conditions can be automatically detected and classified for each measure- ment sequence of MAX-DOAS only using the quantities (CI, O4 absorption and ra- diance) observed by MAX-DOAS. 2.The good agreements of MAX-DOAS cloud classifications with other techniques verified our scheme. 3.The flags of sky conditions provide more information on the validation of satellite productions by MAX-DOAS observations. Table. 1. The quantities derived from MAX-DOAS for cloud classification, their abbreviations and thresholds. Fig. 1. the cloud classification scheme of MAX-DOAS . Fig. 2. the location of Wuxi city in China and MAX-DOAS instrument . Fig. 3. the comparison of the identified sky conditions and visual images from MODIS. Fig. 4. the comparison of the identified sky conditions with (a) AOD from Taihu Aeronet station, (b) visibility at 550 nm, (c) effective cloud fraction from OMI, (d) effective cloud fraction from GOME-2, (e) geo- metrical cloud fraction from MYD, (f) geometrical cloud fraction from MOD, (g) cloud optical thickness from MYD and (h) cloud optical thick- ness from MOD. Table. 2. The line- ar relationship of tropospheric NO2 VCDs from OMI and VCDs from MAX-DOAS us- ing geometrical method and pro- file retrieval pro- cess, respectively.

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  • Validation of cloud and aerosol classification results based on three years

    MAX-DOAS observations in Wuxi (China) using independent data sets Yang Wang

    1( Email: [email protected] ), Thomas Wagner

    1, Pinhua Xie2, Steffen Beirle1, Steffen Dörner1, Julia Remmers

    1, Ang Li

    2

    1) Max-Planck institute for Chemistry, satellite group, Mainz, Germany

    2) Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China

    Abstract

    Multi-Axis-Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations of trace

    gases can be strongly influenced by clouds and aerosols. Thus it is important to identify clouds

    and characterise their properties. In the former work (Wagner et al. 2013) we found the colour

    index, radiance and O4 absorption from MAX-DOAS measurements are sensitive to the prop-

    erties of cloud and aerosol and built a sophisticated classification scheme. In this work we fur-

    ther improved the identification of clouds and aerosol for each elevation sequence of MAX-

    DOAS based on three years of measurements (2011 to 2013) in Wuxi, China (31.57°N,

    120.31°E). The cloud classification results were verified by comparing with other cloud or

    aerosol data sets such as the aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the AERONET Taihu monitor-

    ing site (31.42° N, 120.22° E), MODIS Level 2 cloud products and cloud parameters in level

    2b productions of OMI and GOME-2 from TEMIS. We find good agreement with the MAX-

    DOAS cloud classification using statistical analyses. Based on the results of MAX-DOAS

    cloud classification, we investigate the validation of tropospheric NO2 VCD from OMI with

    the clouds tropospheric NO2 VCD from MAX-DOAS. The flags of sky conditions provide

    more information on the validation of satellite productions by MAX-DOAS observations.

    Cloud classification scheme of MAX-DOAS

    Motivation ● The effects of sky conditions (clear sky, continuous clouds, broken clouds and high aerosol

    load) on MAX-DOAS measurements are quite different.

    ● It is necessary for processing or interpolation of MAX-DOAS data to flag the sky conditions

    for each measurement.

    ● It is helpful to precisely validate the tropospheric vertical column density from satellite

    products in different sky conditions.

    We want to build a convincing scheme to derive cloud and aerosol information (sky con-

    ditions) from the individual MAX-DOAS observations

    Quantity for cloud classification abbrevi-

    ation

    thresh

    old

    Normalized CI (340nm/420nm) for zenith

    view n

    zCI 0.9

    Normalized temporal smoothness indicator of

    CI for zenith view n

    zTSI 8×10

    -8 s-2

    Sum of normalized temporal smoothness indi-

    cator of CI for non-zenith view n

    LTSI 2.5×

    10-7

    spread of the CI SpreadCI 0.3

    Normalized O4 AMF 4nO

    AMF 0.8

    Normalized radiance at 380 nm Radian-

    cen 0.9

    spread of the O4 dAMF SpreadO

    4 0.4

    The classification scheme is based on seven quantities deduced from the radiance, CI and O4

    absorption observed by MAX-DOAS. The seven quantities are shown in the table 1. Based

    on the quantities, we built this scheme in figure 1. Its left column show the determinations

    and the right blue column show the deduced sky conditions. We identify the sky conditions

    by comparing the quantities from individual MAX-DOAS observations with their corre-

    sponding reference values in clear sky. The scheme include two kinds of classifications. One is

    primary classifications indicated by the black arrows and another one is additional classifica-

    tions indicated by the blue arrows. Note that The sky condition for each MAX-DOAS meas-

    urement should belong to one primary classification. In addition to the primary classification

    additional secondary classifications can be assigned.

    Validation of the scheme based on MAX-DOAS Measure-

    ments in Wuxi, China

    MAX-DOAS: The measurements are operated from 1

    May 2011 to 29 Nov 2013 with 5 elevation angles (5°,

    10°, 20°, 30° and 90°), azimuth angle is 0 °(north)

    Other techniques for comparisons with MAX-DOAS:

    1. Visibilitymeter: the visibility at 550 nm

    2. Aeronet: The AOD is available from sun photometer

    operated at Taihu about 18 km west-south away from

    the Wuxi MAX-DOAS site. 3. effective cloud fraction form OMI, GOME-2 4. geometrical CF from MODIS 5. cloud optical thickness from MODIS

    Validation of the scheme based on MAX-DOAS Meas-

    urements in Wuxi, China

    0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.00%

    50%

    100%

    150%

    200%

    p

    erce

    nt

    of

    sky

    co

    nd

    itio

    ns

    (a)

    0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.00

    1000

    2000

    3000

    4000

    5000

    AOD at 340 nm

    nu

    mb

    er o

    f sk

    y c

    on

    dit

    ion

    s

    0 20 40 60 800

    50100150200 clear with low aerosol strong visibal absorption clear with high aerosol

    zenith cloud holes offzenith cloud holes broken clouds continuous clouds

    exceptional continuous clouds fog "or" thick clouds "and" thick clouds

    0 10 20 300%

    50%

    100%

    150%

    200%

    visibility at 550 nm

    num

    ber

    s of

    sky c

    ondit

    ions

    (b)

    0 10 20 300

    2000

    4000

    6000

    8000

    10000

    12000

    per

    cent

    of

    sky c

    ondit

    ions

    0 20 40 60 800%

    50%

    100%

    150%

    200%

    250%

    effective CF from OMI

    nu

    mb

    er

    of

    sky c

    on

    ditio

    ns

    pe

    rce

    nt

    of

    sky c

    on

    ditio

    ns

    (c)

    0 20 40 60 800

    50

    100

    150

    200

    0 20 40 60 800%

    50%

    100%

    150%

    200%

    250%

    300%

    0 20 40 60 800

    50

    100

    150

    200

    (d)

    effective CF from GOME-2

    nu

    mb

    er

    of

    sky c

    on

    ditio

    ns

    pe

    rce

    nt

    of

    sky c

    on

    ditio

    ns

    0 20 40 60 800%

    50%

    100%

    150%

    200%

    250%

    nu

    mb

    er

    of

    sky c

    on

    ditio

    ns

    pe

    rce

    nt

    of

    sky c

    on

    ditio

    ns

    geometrical CF from MYD0 20 40 60 80

    0

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    (e)

    0 20 40 60 800%

    50%

    100%

    150%

    200%

    250%

    nu

    mb

    ers

    of

    sky c

    on

    ditio

    ns

    pe

    rce

    nt

    of

    sky c

    on

    ditio

    ns

    0 20 40 60 800

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    (f)

    geometrical CF from MOD

    0 20 40 600%

    50%

    100%

    150%

    200%

    250%

    nu

    mb

    er o

    f sk

    y c

    on

    dit

    ion

    s

    0 20 40 60 800

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500(g)

    per

    cen

    t o

    f sk

    y c

    on

    dit

    ion

    s

    COT from MYD0 20 40 60

    0%

    100%

    200%

    300%

    400%

    num

    ber

    s of

    sky c

    ondit

    ions

    per

    cent

    of

    sky c

    ondit

    ions

    COT from MOD0 20 40 60 80

    0

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500(h)

    VCD from geometrical method of MAX-

    DOAS measurements

    VCD from profile retrieval process of

    MAX-DOAS measurements

    statement R2 slope Point number R2 slope Point number

    All points 0.6585 1.3717 203 0.578 1.213 142

    CF