SOlar Radiation Based Established Techniques for aTmospheric Observations (SORBETTO) Winter school took place from February 6th to 10th atESA-ESRIN(European Space Research Institute), in Frascati, Italy and was organized in collaboration with Sapienza University(Roma) and CNR-ISAC (National Research Council – Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate).
SORBETTO is an important training event for young researchers collaborating within the international aerosol’s scientific community (gas and aerosol observations for climatological, meteorological, local and global air pollution studies, remote sensing and in-situ measurements, calibration of satellite measurements…).
Ground-based instruments deployed in Networks such as AERONET are key players to perform high quality observations that contribute to the Validation and Calibration (CAL/VAL) of satellite missions. Instruments such as Sun Sky Lunar Photometers or LiDARs allow to check that information derived from satellite sensors is comparable to ground measurements and thus, to validate their accuracy.
CIMEL Team operating an instrumental demonstration of CE318-T Sun Sky Lunar Photometer at University of Sapienza, 9th 2023.
The instrument show held on Thursday 9th at Sapienza University was the opportunity for students to attend a presentation of various solutions such as CIMEL CE318-T Sun Sky Lunar Photometer, exclusive instrument of NASA Aerosol Network AERONET.
It was a pleasure for CIMEL to attend the event with our great and exclusive Italian Business Partner XEarPro Srl. With 20 years of experience in the field of environmental monitoring, XEarpro Srl contributes in the development of applications and solutions to safeguard the environment around us. We collaborate closely to meet the needs of the Italian scientific community in term of aerosols remote sensing instruments.
The Laboratoire d’optique atmosphérique (LOA) is a joint research unit of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) of France and the University of Lille – Sciences and Technologies. The LOA studies the different components of the atmosphere, mainly clouds, aerosols and gas. In collaboration with the LOA, CIMEL created a joint research laboratory : AGORA-LAB.
Since 2005, the LOA has started the systematic observation of aerosols by LiDAR and has developed a database and an automated real-time data processing system. Its collaboration with CIMEL allowed the creation of the multi-wavelength LILAS LiDAR which was integrated into the European network EARLINET/ACTRIS in 2015.
The LILAS LiDAR was specifically designed and adjusted by CIMEL to meet a specific need of the LOA. The transportable multi-wavelength Raman research LiDAR LILAS offers a significant qualitative and quantitative value on aerosol parameters measured at night and during the day, in particular through its combination with CIMEL sun/sky/lunar photometers.
LILAS also allows the observation of clouds and the obtention water vapor and methane profiles. It also gives access to essential climate variables such as the absorption profile of atmospheric aerosols. Its maximum range can reach 20 km and allows it to study the lower stratosphere which can be useful in case of major volcanic eruption for example.
For the Data treatment, the AUSTRAL (AUtomated Server for the TReatment of Atmospheric Lidars) web server data is the processing tool, which provides real-time quicklooks of the LiDAR Range Corrected Signals (RCS) and Volume Depolarization Ratio (VDR) as well as Klett inversion results (extinction and backscatter coefficient profiles).
To answer the need of various stakeholders, the CE710 LiDAR is a fully customizable high power multi-channel aerosols LiDAR resulting from the collaboration between the LOA, CIMEL and Dr. Igor Veselovskii institute. Depending on the requirements and budgets of each, it exists multiple options to customize the LiDAR. For exemple, the choice of the laser type and the wavelengths, the depolarization options or the Raman options (and many more).
Thanks to its precision in the detection of aerosols, the LILAS CE710 LiDAR has highlighted many atmospheric natural events such as volcanic eruptions (ash) or dust and sand events for example but also biomass burning particles coming from fires. LILAS data and all the LiDAR’s activities between the LOA and CIMEL bring a precious monitoring tool to understand atmospheric phenomenas over France, Europe and worldwide.
Figure 1 : View of LILAS (telescope, laser, and acquisition bay) in vertical view, open roof hatch and example of observed aerosol profiles. LILAS is a transportable multi-wavelength Elastic & Raman LiDAR. It has 3 elastic channels (355, 532 and 1064 nm), 3 Raman channels (387, 407 and 530 nm) and 3 depolarized channels (355, 532 and 1064 nm).
Figure 2: Night time LILAS operation during SHADOW-2 campaign in Senegal (Credits: Q. Hu, LOA)
Figure 3 : Detection of smoke particles injected up to 17 km into the stratosphere by intense pyro-convection generated by the Canadian wildfires of summer 2017 (Hu et al., 2018).
Figure 4: Illustration of the extreme event in October 2017. LiDAR LILAS time series from 16/10/17-16:00 to 17/10/17-06:00 UTC at the Lille site (LOA). (a) The reddest regions indicate a high concentration of particles while the blue regions indicate a very low concentration of particles. (b) Aerosol depolarization which informs us about the shape of the particles and thus their nature, desert or fire particles. Graphic credits Q. Hu, LOA
Figure 5: LiDAR LILAS LOA
Communications and posters
Podvin T., P. Goloub, D. Tanré, I. Veselovskii, V. Bovchaliuk, M. Korensky, A. Mortier, S. Victori, .LILAS, un LIDAR multispectral et Raman pour l’étude des aérosols, de la vapeur d’eau et des nuages, Atelier Experimentation et Instrumentation 2014 (oral presentation)
Podvin T, Q. Hu, P. Goloub, O. Dubovik, I. Veselovskii, V. Bovchaliuk, A. Lopatin, B. Torres, D. Tanré, C. Deroo, T. Lapyonok, F. Ducos, A. Diallo. , LILAS, le Lidar multi spectral Raman polarisé et quelques résultats d’inversions, Atelier Experimentation et Instrumentation 2017 (poster presentation).
Hu et al., Aerosol absorption measurements and retrievals in SHADOW2 campaign, ICAC 2017, International Conference on Aerosol Cycle, 21 – 23 Mar, Lille
Hu et al., A test of new approaches to retrieve aerosol properties from Photometer-LiDAR joint measurements, ESA/IDEAS Workshop 2017, Lille, 06-07 Apr 2017
Hu et al., Retrieval of aerosol properties with Sun/Sky-photometer and LiDAR measurements, ACTRIS-FR, Workshop, Autrans Méaudre en Vercors, 3-5 mai 2017
Hu et al., Retrieval of aerosol properties with Sun/Sky-photometer and LiDAR measurements, 28th ILRC, international LiDAR and Radar conference, Bucharest, 25 – 30 June
Hu et al., Lidar measurements with 3-depolarization in Lille, 3rd ACTRIS-2 WP2 Workshop, Delft, 13-17 Nov 2017.
Podvin. T, Q. Hu, P. Goloub, I. Veselovskii, C. Deroo, G. Dubois, T. Trivellato, I. Popovici, B. Torres. Aerosol Remote Sensing at Lille observation platform: upgrade of profiling capabilities. ACTRIS-2 / WP2 Aerosol Profiling – Hatfield – 19-23 November 2018, United Kingdom (présentation poster) http://www-loa.univ-lille1.fr/documents/LOA/posters/20181115_poster_LILAS_WP2_2018.pdf
Qiaoyun Hu, Juan-Antonio Bravo Aranda, Ioana Popovici, Philippe Goloub, Thierry Podvin, Igor Veselovskii, Martial Haeffelin, Christophe Pietras, Transported smoke layers detected over northern France, EGU, 2018 (présentation poster) http://www-loa.univ-lille1.fr/documents/LOA/posters/2018_EGU_Hu.pdf
Météo-France is a public administrative institution, the official meteorological and climatological service in France. As such, it exercises the State’s responsibilities in terms of meteorological safety. The institution is also in charge of managing and modernizing an observation network of the atmosphere, the surface ocean and the snow cover in France and overseas.
The institution is also present on an international level as it contributes to the programs and activities of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) which sets standards that meet the shared needs of its Member States.
Météo-France’s research department, the Centre national de recherches météorologiques (CNRM), is a joint research unit with the CNRS. Météo-France is also a joint supervisor of the Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des CYclones (LaCy), the Service des Avions Français Instrumentés pour la Recherche et l’Environnement (SAFIRE), and the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP).
Météo-France core missions are linked to the needs related to the protection of people and property: weather forecasting, knowledge of the climate and its evolution, physics and dynamics of the atmosphere and interactions between men, the climate and the atmosphere…
The knowledge of weather conditions is of huge importance for the aviation industry for example. Landing, taking off and even flying safely depends on weather conditions. The perfect example of this huge importance is the eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull which occurred in April 2010. The Icelandic volcano released a thick ash of smoke which disrupted European air traffic, causing five days of complete interruption of traffic: the largest closure of airspace decreed in Europe, not without financial consequences as it led to considerable losses.
Indeed, volcanic ash which tends to settle in the atmosphere is dangerous as it can be sucked into the plane’s engines, then, melt, and finally clog the jet engines. It can cause air plane accidents.
Hence the importance of using state-of-the-art remote sensing measuring instruments to determine for instance the localization, the characterization and the concentration of aerosols in the atmosphere. For this purpose, Météo-France works in collaboration with the LOA (Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique) to manage and maintain a network of efficient solutions and link several instruments such as LiDARs and CIMEL photometers (ready-to-use by AERONET) for more accurate data and considerably reduced uncertainties.
To this end, CIMEL works in close collaboration with Météo-France and ensures to provide quality and constantly improved instruments to meet the urgent needs in terms of security.
Actually, CIMEL also provides instrument synergies between Photometers and LiDARs through a unique monitoring software iAAMS, dedicated to the aerosols study and analysis. The obtained parameters are the characterization of aerosol types, the extinction and backscatter profile of mass concentration. Cimel’s AAMS is able to automatically locate, identify and quantify aerosols, layer by layer, day and night.
US west coast forests are more and more in the grip of Wildfires.
Keywords : Aerosols, LiDARs, MicroLiDARs, Monitoring, Earth observation, Remote sensing, Wildfire, Smoke, Ash, Fires, Climate Change, Global Warming, Atmospheric Monitoring, Mobile Solutions, Air Quality
June 28th 2022
According to a recent UN report, forest fires will continue to increase by the end of the century. It is especially the case on the west coast of the United States, which is one of the countries most affected by this phenomenon. Whether they are natural or human-caused, these fires are devastating on a large scale.
The global warming makes the conditions more favorable to the start of fires and their proliferation. The climate change is worsening the impacts by prolonging the fire seasons.
California is the most wildfire-prone state in the United States. In 2021, over 9000 wildfires burned in the Southwestern state ravishing nearly 2.23 million acres.
Fires are a danger to life on the planet: smoke inhalation, soil degradation and water pollution, destruction of the habitats of many species… Not to mention the aggravation of global warming due to the destruction of forests, crucial to absorb the carbon that we emit.
Therefore, on summer 2019, NASA initiated FIREX-AQ mission so as to investigate on fire and smoke from wildfire using several measurement instruments across the world, and especially in the US.
NASA uses satellites combined with airborne and ground-based instruments to decipher the impact of wildfires.
The emissions of ash clouds resulting from the fire can be transported thousands of miles and can have an impact on air quality for example as they are responsible for a large fraction of the US PM2.5 emissions. Due to its microscopic size, PM2.5 is easily inhaled and has the potential to travel deep into our respiratory tracts, it can also remain airborne for long periods.
To date, wildfire outputs are still poorly represented in emission inventories.
The overarching objectives of FIREX-AQ are to:
Provide measurements of trace gas and aerosol emissions for wildfires and prescribed fires in great detail
Relate them to fuel and fire conditions at the point of emission
Characterize the conditions relating to plume rise
Follow plumes downwind to understand chemical transformation and air quality impacts
Assess the efficacy of satellite detections for estimating the emissions from sampled fires
For this purpose, CIMEL provided CE376 micro-LiDARs as well as its network of CE318-T photometers through AERONET. These solutions allowed detailed measurements of aerosols emitted from wildfires and agricultural fires to address science topics and evaluate impacts on local and regional air quality, and how satellite data can be used to estimate emissions more accurately.
Indeed, the synergy of the photometer with the mobile CE376 LiDAR allows profiling the extinction at 2 wavelengths (532, 808 nm) and of the Angstrom Exponent (AE). AE vertical profile and the depolarization capabilities of the CE376 allow identifying the aerosol type (fine/coarse). Below are some results from the FIREX-AQ 2019 mission:
Figure 2: Mapping of smoke vertical and spatial dispersion thanks to mobile LIDAR and photometer measurements by Dr. Ioana POPOVICI.
Figure 3: Mapping and modelization from FIREX-AQ campaign in Western US (2019) by LiDAR CE376.
FIREX-AQ experience proved that we are able to embark compact remote sensing instruments and install them quickly on site to access harsh environments and get close to fire sources, which has not been done before. Actually, it is the first time a LIDAR reaches that close to fire sources in a mountainous region.
Giles, D. M. and Holben, B. and Eck, T. F. and Slutsker, I. and LaRosa, A. D. and Sorokin, M. G. and Smirnov, A. and Sinyuk, A. and Schafer, J. and Kraft, J. and Scully, A. and Goloub, P. and Podvin, T. and Blarel, L. and Proniewski, L. and Popovici, I. and Dubois, G. and Lapionak, A., (2020), Ground-based Remote Sensing of the Williams Flats Fire Using Mobile AERONET DRAGON Measurements and Retrievals during FIREX-AQ, 2020, AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts.
The Canadian Arctic is probably one of the best areas to conduct climatological studies, especially on global warming given the purity of the atmosphere in this zone, especially due to the absence of anthropological pollution.
Nevertheless, this rather hostile land, due to its temperatures, can make the difficulties of recording measurements very real. Consequently, there is a lack of measurements in the Arctic, hence the need to install platforms with robust and reliable measuring instruments.
Some of those platforms, especially PEARL and OPAL, have a particular emphasis on the Arctic because Canada has a significant portion of its territory in the Arctic.
The Polar Environmental Atmospheric Research Lab (PEARL) and the zerO altitude Polar Atmosphere Laboratory (OPAL) which is part of PEARL, is operated by the CAnadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change (CANDAC) which is a member of AEROCAN. Formed in 2005, PEARL constitutes a network of universities and government researchers dedicated to studying the changing atmosphere over Canada.
The first task of PEARL was to renew and operate the existing laboratory at Eureka in Nunavut, which was created to contribute to the world-wide effort to intensively study the Arctic region through AEROCAN.
The AEROCAN photometer network is run as a joint collaboration between the Université de Sherbrooke and the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC). It is a full-fledged sub-network of the much larger AERONET network of Cimel photometers and benefits from all the services that AERONET offers.
Objectives:
Understanding atmospheric change over Canada
Integration of measurements taken from space, aircraft, balloons and the ground
Provision of quality-controlled research datasets to researchers
Linkage with international networks for data exchange and supranational planning
In addition, PEARL undertakes measurements that are simultaneous with those made by various satellite instruments. These “validation” measurements are extremely effective because of the location of PEARL and OPAL, and they further enhance the science return of the research as they use state-of-the-art technology solutions like theCE318-T Photometer.
PEARL is located at Eureka, Nunavut (80N, 86W) on Ellesmere Island in Canada’s high Arctic, 450 km north of Grise Fiord, the most northerly permanent settlement. This photometer site is 1,100 km from the North Pole. OPAL is located about 12 km southeast of the PEARL ridge lab which is at an elevation of 610 m. This dual placement was designed to study the layer between the two sites as well as provide an element of redundancy for the AOD measurements.
Figure 1: Location of PEARL and OPAL photometer sites (upper pictures : 2007 CANDAC/Ovidiu Pancrati, bottom picture: Norm O-Neill, Université de Sherbrooke)
Figure 2: PEARL CE318 Photometer pointing to the sun for a measurement scenario
Figure 3: Latest measurements from Opal (above) and Pearl (bottom) photometers depicting AOD (Aerosol Optical Depth). Credits: NASA AERONET: https://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Results:
A multi-year AOD and effective radius climatology for the high Arctic showed a number of consistent features using the Cimel CE318-T Photometer: • Spring to summer decrease of fine-mode AOD (probably attributable to biomass burning and/or anthropogenic pollution) • Significant correlation of fine mode AOD with CO (Carbon monoxide) concentration which indicates a predominance of biomass burning aerosols throughout the entire year • West to East decrease in AOD on a pan-Arctic scale Another study (Antuña-Marrero et al., 2022) has been conducted for water vapor research. It shows that it is feasible to use Cimel CE318-T Photometer AERONET observations in the Arctic for water vapor research, considering the robust quantification of its dry bias that has been established. As a matter of fact, AERONET imposes standardization of instruments, calibration, processing and distribution that Cimel is the exclusive provider. Its IWV (Integrated Water Vapor) observations are an ideal standard dataset to re-calibrate or homogenize the rest of the instrumental IWV observations to a predefined absolute standard dataset.
References:
Antuña-Marrero, Juan Carlos & Román, Roberto & Cachorro, Victoria & Mateos, David & Toledano, Carlos & Calle, Abel & Antuña Sánchez, Juan Carlos & Vaquero-Martínez, Javier & Antón, Manuel & Baraja, Ángel. (2022). Integrated water vapor over the Arctic: Comparison between radiosondes and sun photometer observations. Atmospheric Research. 270. 106059. 10.1016/j.atmosres.2022.106059.
AboEl‐Fetouh, Y., O’Neill, N. T., Ranjbar, K., Hesaraki, S., Abboud, I., & Sobolewski, P. S. (2020). Climatological‐scale analysis of intensive and semi‐intensive aerosol parameters derived from AERONET retrievals over the Arctic. Journal ofGeophysical Research: Atmospheres, 125, e2019JD031569. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031569
Mölders, N. and Friberg, M. (2020) Using MAN and Coastal AERONET Measurements to Assess the Suitability of MODIS C6.1 Aerosol Optical Depth for Monitoring Changes from Increased Arctic Shipping. Open Journal of Air Pollution, 9, 77-104. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojap.2020.94006
Since 2002, more than 31 OC measurement sites have been integrated on the NASA AERONET OCEAN COLOR network through offshore fixed platforms and coastal platforms all around the world. Thanks to numerous collaborations between environmental sciences and energy industries such as discussed below, the number of Ocean Color measurement sites keeps growing.
In collaboration with University of Southern California (USC), the SeaPRISM site at the oil rig platform Eureka was installed in the Los Angeles Harbor and was initially operational in April 2011. CE318-TV12-OC (SeaPRISM) photometers are part of the AERONET network of automated instruments designed to make automated measurements of aerosols around the world.
The SeaPRISM instrument has been modified to also view the ocean surface and measure ocean color remote sensing reflectance as well as the aerosol measurements. Data is currently flowing to NASA AERONET as well as NRL-SSC (The Naval Research Laboratory detachment at Stennis Space Center (SSC), Mississippi) and Oregon State University (OSU) for matchups. Data has been collected routinely since June 2012 to date.
Continuity of the ocean color products between ocean color satellites is required for climate studies, as well as to enhance the operational products used in ecological monitoring and forecasting, such as accurately monitoring ocean water quality and determining changes along our coastlines. In addition, inter-satellite product comparisons are essential for data continuity into the future.
The JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System) calibration and validation team has developed an infrastructure to evaluate VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) Ocean Environmental Data Records (EDRs): routinely nLw(λ) and chlorophyll are evaluated against existing satellites data measurements. Ocean color products are based on nLw( λ) from which specific products of chlorophyll, backscattering coefficients, absorption coefficients, and diffuse attenuation coefficients are computed.
Therefore the accurate radiometric retrieval of the nLw( λ) is considered essential for the production of any ocean color product. A web-based with the VIIRS data matching the satellite data from Platform Eureka SeaPRISM was created in order to provide reliable data. The CE-318 of the oil platform Eureka helps to validate the satellite data provided by VIIRS on the JPSS.
Here are some results performed recently by the CE318-TV12-OC (SeaPRISM)located at Platform Eureka depicting the Normalized Water-Leaving Radiance.
Figure 1: Measurements performed at AERONET-OC Eureka oil platform, California – Normalized Water-Leaving Radiance [Lw]N.
Curtiss O. Davis, Nicholas Tufillaro, Jasmine Nahorniak, Burton Jones, and Robert Arnone “Evaluating VIIRS ocean color products for west coast and Hawaiian waters”, Proc. SPIE 8724, Ocean Sensing and Monitoring V, 87240J (3 June 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2016177
The implantation of CE318-T photometers on offshore and coastal platforms constitutes a major turning point for atmospheric and ocean color applications.
The main substances that affect the color of the ocean include dissolved organic matter, living phytoplankton with chlorophyll pigments, and non-living particles like marine snow and mineral sediments. Ocean color data have a critical role in operational observation systems monitoring coastal eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, and sediment plumes. Scientists rely on satellite observations to monitor Ocean Color (OC) parameters, such as chlorophyll a concentration (Chla) and inherent optical properties of water (IOP), to better understand the role of the ocean in the Earth’s climate.
However, the current satellite measurement systems can provide only coarse spatial resolution, with relevant lack of data.
Thus, AERONET Ocean Color saw the light of day in 2002. This new component of AERONET (NASA AErosol RObotic NETwork) aims at providing more data concerning satellites measurements as there is a lack of insights in the monitoring of marine aerosols and water radiance. Since 2002, more than 31 OC measurement sites have been integrated on the network through offshore fixed platforms and coastal platforms all around the world.
Its particularity is that the measurements are taken from the radiance emerging from the sea using CE318-TV12-OC (SeaPRISM) Cimel photometers. By measuring the water radiance from the sea with instruments installed on coastal/offshore platforms or boats, Cimel improves the accuracy of satellites measurements. AERONET decided in 2015, after full validation, to accept only the CE318-T for new photometers entering the network. Below is a representative drawing of the measurement principle of the CE318-TV12-OC(SeaPRISM) photometer:
Many missions are conducted by AERONET-OC to collect ocean color data and measurements. Below, one of these campaigns conducted on an offshore platform (AAOT) in the Adriatic Sea.
Figure 2: AERONET OC site located in the Acqua Alta Oceanographic Tower (AAOT) in the Gulf of Venice in the Northern Adriatic Sea in July 2018.
Figure 3: Measurements performed at AERONET-OC AAOT – Scatterplot of LIOP WN(λ) versus LChla WN(λ).
Citation: Zibordi, Giuseppe, Brent N. Holben, Marco Talone, Davide D’Alimonte, Ilya Slutsker, David M. Giles, and Mikhail G. Sorokin. «Advances in the Ocean Color Component of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET-OC)”, Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 38, 4 (2021): 725-746, accessed Sep 17, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-20-0085.1
ESA –New remote sensing tech on satellite for atmospheric measurements
3 SEPTEMBER 2020
On September 3rd 2020, ESA has launched 42 small satellites aboard a Vega rocket from Kourou in French Guiana for the Copernicus Project.
This new type of satellites capable of measuring CO2 emissions to the nearest kilometer and pinpointing their origin.
One of these nanosatellites, PICASSO, carries
remote sensing technology developed which will be used to undertake
measurements in the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere.
PICASSO stands for Pico-Satellite for Atmospheric and Space Science Observations and it’s the first CubeSat nanosatellite mission of the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy.
Weighing only 3.5kg, it carries two measuring instruments for
atmospheric research: A Visible Spectral Imager
for Occultation and Nightglow (VISION) and a system to conduct plasma
measurements in the ionosphere, the Sweeping Langmuir Probe (SLP).
This project of analysis and collection of satellite data will be
carried out over 5 years. The aim is to obtain as much precise information as
possible on the quantification of gases in the air.
We will be able to know exactly the real CO2 emission by country, cities and the origin of gases (if it’s anthropogenic or natural).
Thanks to this initiative, more and more surveillance systems will be
sent into space over the next few years, which will help develop the market for
remote sensing solutions.
Cimel will be part of this development by bringing additional data thanks to its photometers and LiDARs to help calibrate and validate data from satellites.
Earth Observation Satellites & Ground Monitoring Solutions – an essential synergy for Air Quality and Climate Change
April 30, 2020
Atmospheric monitoring and climate analysis are strategic missions in order to improve the understanding of air quality dynamics and climate change evolutions. This in turn is a pre-requisite for providing reliable information reports with real data measurements and to help decision makers and end-users to understand the impacts and causes of air pollution with atmospheric impacts and to act upon it.
Satellite data is key for atmospheric and climate monitoring by providing a continuous and global view of the Earth parameters. These data are essential inputs for forecast models by improving their accuracy.
By combining satellite observations with models of the atmosphere and measurements from ground-based instruments, like Cimel Remote Sensing Solutions, it is possible to measure accurately and forecast aerosols (particles suspended in the air), as well as quantify gases level (ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide…) and several other kind of environmental parameters (planetary boundary layer, water leaving reflectance for Ocean color, solar radiation, water vapor, atmospheric concentration profiles PM2.5/PM10…).
Cimel solutions keep working continuously and automatically, to help the calibration of satellite instruments and validate their data. Furthermore, Cimel is always active to support the various research activities from the worldwide scientific community.
In this video, different aerosols are highlighted by color, including dust (orange), sea salt (blue), nitrates (pink) and carbonaceous (red), with brighter regions corresponding to higher aerosol amounts.
Aerosols, these tiny particles of the lower
atmosphere, are one important component of atmosphere affecting climate
(radiative effects, water cycle) and air quality.
For characterizing and monitoring aerosols,
water wapor and clouds, LOA and Cimel, in collaboration with NASA’s GSFC,
developed the robotic solar photometer for the AERONET network in the early
1990s. The meeting between CNRS and NASA researchers and the industrial company
Cimel led to the definition of an automatic, robust, autonomous solar
photometer that transmits its data by radio, providing AOD and particle size in
real time. In 1998, the French component (PHOTONS) was awarded the INSU
Observation Service label.
Cimel is NASA – AERONET’s exclusive supplier of automatic Sun Sky Lunar photometers (CIMEL CE318-T) operating in near real time and providing aerosol optical and columnar microphysical properties.
