Assurance of Data Quality of Aerosol Lidars and a Method for Obtaining Consistency of Observations with Different Types of Lidars

Abstract

Data quality assurance of lidar observations of aerosols is discussed. Measurement principles of Mie scattering lidar, Raman lidar and high-spectral resolution lidar are introduced, and errors in the measured parameters and the derived parameters are discussed. The data processing methods and data products for the two-wavelength (532 nm and 1064 nm) polarization-sensitive (532 nm) lidars in the Asian dust and aerosol lidar observation network (AD-Net) are presented. It is concluded that clear definitions of data products and providing the data along with error estimates are essential for the use of the data. Possibility of establishing consistency of observations with lidars having different measurement parameters based on a unified data analysis method (the aerosol component analysis method) is also discussed.