- Ref: (PP00)92320
- Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Realization: 2023-2026
- PI: Francisco Navas Guzmán
- Researchers: Lucas Alados-Arboledas (Universidad de Granada), Alberto Cazorla (Universidad de Granada), Daniel Pérez-Ramírez (Universidad de Granada), Ana del Águila (Universidad de Granada), Roberto Román (Universidad de Valladolid), Carlos Toledano (Universidad de Valladolid), Alexander Haefele (Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss), Rolf Rüfenacht (MeteoSwiss), Giovanni Martucci (MeteoSwiss), Franco Marenco (The Cyprus Institute, CyI)
Summary
The AEROCLOUD project focuses on the evaluation of EarthCARE calibration and validation (Cal/Val) activities related to aerosol vertical profiles and cloud measurements, using the densest network of ceilometers in Europe: the E-PROFILE network. E-PROFILE is part of the EUMETNET Composite Observing System, which manages the European radar wind profiler (RWP) and lidar and automatic ceilometer (ALC) networks for monitoring vertical wind and aerosol profiles. This EarthCARE calibration and validation activity will have an international impact thanks to the vertical aerosol measurements of the E-PROFILE network, which covers more than 400 stations in 22 European countries. This system will provide near real-time vertically resolved, columnar aerosol properties on a continental scale. The high-level products to be delivered in relation to atmospheric aerosol profiling will allow testing of the complex assumptions made in the satellite retrieval algorithms.
The methodology employed in the study includes the use of the E-PROFILE network, comprising over 432 ceilometers for attenuated backscattering of aerosols across Europe, as well as colocalized measurements from the AERONET and E-PROFILE ground-based networks to be used as input data for the GRASP code. This integration of sun photometer and ceilometer data through the GRASP algorithm allows the inclusion of novel, vertically resolved aerosol optical and microphysical properties for this validation. The study also includes the use of radiative transfer models (RTMs) to account for the radiative effects of aerosols measured by ceilometers. To further improve understanding, intensive field campaigns will be carried out within the AGORA (Andalusia Global Atmosphere Observatory) in southern Spain, and at the MeteoSwiss aerological station in Payerne, Switzerland. These campaigns aim to collect in situ measurements of aerosol and cloud properties, complemented by remote sensing data.
Cal/Val activities aim to validate Level 2 products from EarthCARE instruments such as ATLID, MSI and CPR, using independent ground-based observations from E-PROFILE and AERONET. This validation spans Europe and covers aerosol parameters, cloud classification and other EarthCARE products. The project includes deliverables such as E-PROFILE data acquisition plans, E-PROFILE/AERONET station reports and a long-term database for validation of EarthCARE products. Funded mainly by the "AEROMOST" project of excellence of the Regional Government of the Junta de Andalucía, it contributes to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and to the EU atmospheric services. AEROCLOUD assists in the validation of aerosol products and in the creation of new data using remote sensing techniques and EarthCARE products.