MPL ACE-2 observations

Micro-pulse Lidar (MPL) observations were made on Tenerife, Canary Islands during the Aerosol Characterization Experiment-2 (ACE-2) conducted June-July, 1997. The principal objective of the MPL observations was to characterize the temporal/spatial distributions of aerosols in the region, particularly to identify and profile elevated Saharan dust layers which occur intermittently during the June-July time period. In addition to the standard vertical profiling capability, the MPL was configured to make both horizontal and slant-path measurements. Making such measurements enables retrievals of aerosol extinction and backscatter without the degree of ambiguity normally associated with only vertically pointing lidar observations. This paper presents examples of horizontal and slant-path MPL measurements made during ACE-2, including estimates of aerosol extinction retrieved from these observations. Also included is an outline of the analysis methodology employed to obtain these aerosol retrievals