Study of the structure of the lower troposphere over Athens using a backscattering lidar during the MEDCAPOT-TRACE experiment: measurements over a suburban area

Ground-based measurements of the structure of the lower troposphere (1–3.5 km height ASL) over Athens, Greece were performed during the MEDCAPHOT-TRACE Campaign in summer 1994. These measurements were obtained in a suburban area, near the northeastern exit of the Athenian basin, using a backscattering lidar system operating at 355 and 532 nm. The lidar system was pointing vertically and was operated during various air pollution and meteorological conditions. A lidar inversion algorithm was applied to determine the vertical profile of the aerosol backscattering coefficient in the 1–3.5 km altitude range. The analysis of the bi-dimensional cross-section of the aerosol backscattering coefficient, for four selected days, in conjunction with radiosonde and aircraft data, permitted us to retrieve important (mainly qualitative) information about the temporal variation of the structure of the lower troposphere over a suburban area.