Search Results (4)

The Atmospheric Dynamics Mission ADM-Aeolus was successfully launched in August 2018 by the European Space Agency (ESA). The Aeolus mission carried a single instrument, the first-ever Doppler wind lidar (DWL) in space, called Atmospheric LAser Doppler INstrument (ALADIN). Aeolus circled the Earth, providing vertical profiles of horizontal line-of-sight (HLOS) winds on a global scale. The Aeolus satellite’s measurements filled critical gaps in existing wind observations, particularly in remote regions such as the Brazilian Amazon. This area, characterized by dense rainforests and rich biodiversity, is essential for global climate dynamics. The weather patterns of the Amazon are influenced by atmospheric circulation driven by Hadley cells and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which are crucial for the distribution of moisture and heat from the equator to the subtropics. The data provided by Aeolus can significantly enhance our understanding of these complex atmospheric processes. In this long-term validation study, we used radiosonde data collected from three stations in the Brazilian Amazon (Cruzeiro do Sul, Porto Velho, and Rio Branco) as a reference to assess the accuracy of the Level 2B (L2B) Rayleigh-clear and Mie-cloudy wind products. Statistical validation was conducted by comparing Aeolus L2B wind products and radiosonde data covering the period from October 2018 to March 2023 for Cruzeiro do Sul and Porto Velho, and from October 2018 to December 2022 for Rio Branco. Considering all available collocated winds, including all stations, a Pearson’s coefficient $\left(r\right)$ of 0.73 was observed in Rayleigh-clear and 0.85 in Mie-cloudy wind products, revealing a strong correlation between Aeolus and radiosonde winds, suggesting that Aeolus wind products are reliable for capturing wind profiles in the studied region. The observed biases were −0.14 m/s for Rayleigh-clear and −0.40 m/s for Mie-cloudy, fulfilling the mission requirement of having absolute biases below 0.7 m/s. However, when analyzed annually, in 2022, the bias for Rayleigh-clear was −0.95 m/s, which did not meet the mission requirements. Full article

The eVe lidar is a scanning system that can perform combined linear/circular polarization and Raman measurements at 355 nm and consists of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) reference aerosol lidar system. eVe was deployed in the ASKOS campaign, which was held in Cabo Verde during the summer/autumn of 2021 and 2022, for the validation of the aerosol products of the ESA’s Aeolus mission. During the campaign, eVe performed routine linear/circular depolarization measurements during Aeolus overpasses as well as dual-field-of-view measurements for the investigation of multiple scattering effects on dust layers. Herein, we present an overview of the acquired measurements and findings. Full article

The missing cross-channel of the lidar system aboard Aeolus (Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument; ALADIN) makes it impossible to obtain realistic optical products when the depolarizing atmospheric layers are probed (non-spherical particles). Additionally, it cannot provide retrievals separately for aerosol and cloud targets. To overcome these inherent deficiencies, this study aims to deliver an enhanced Aeolus aerosol product (focusing on dust), which will be utilized on aerosol data assimilation schemes coupled with dust transport models to improve Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP). For the derivation of the improved aerosol product, a series of processing steps were designed, involving the use of spaceborne retrievals/products from multi-sensors in conjunction with reanalysis numerical outputs and reference ground-based measurements. Full article

Synergetic measurements of the vertical atmospheric field and the total charge density in the presence of dust events are presented through the launches of balloon-borne instrumentation, including a MiniMill electrometer and a space charge sensor, under dust events during the AEOLUS Cal/Val campaign of ASKOS in Cabo Verde, in June/September 2022. The electric field profiling measurements obtained by different instrumentations are compared, and the near-ground observations are evaluated with a reference ground-based fieldmill electrometer. Moreover, their performance is assessed by utilizing measurements of the co-located Polly XT lidar and its extracted products above the launching site. Full article