Articles | Volume 11, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1119-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1119-2018
Research article
 | 
26 Feb 2018
Research article |  | 26 Feb 2018

Experimental techniques for the calibration of lidar depolarization channels in EARLINET

Livio Belegante, Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda, Volker Freudenthaler, Doina Nicolae, Anca Nemuc, Dragos Ene, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Aldo Amodeo, Gelsomina Pappalardo, Giuseppe D'Amico, Francesco Amato, Ronny Engelmann, Holger Baars, Ulla Wandinger, Alexandros Papayannis, Panos Kokkalis, and Sérgio N. Pereira

Abstract. Particle depolarization ratio retrieved from lidar measurements are commonly used for aerosol-typing studies, microphysical inversion, or mass concentration retrievals. The particle depolarization ratio is one of the primary parameters that can differentiate several major aerosol components but only if the measurements are accurate enough. The accuracy related to the retrieval of particle depolarization ratios is the driving factor for assessing and improving the uncertainties of the depolarization products. This paper presents different depolarization calibration procedures used to improve the quality of the depolarization data. The results illustrate a significant improvement of the depolarization lidar products for all the selected lidar stations that have implemented depolarization calibration procedures. The calibrated volume and particle depolarization profiles at 532 nm show values that fall within a range that is generally accepted in the literature.

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Short summary
This paper presents different depolarization calibration procedures used to improve the quality of the depolarization data. The results illustrate a significant improvement of the depolarization lidar products for all the selected EARLINET lidar instruments. The calibrated volume and particle depolarization profiles at 532 nm show values that fall within a range that is accepted in the literature. The depolarization accuracy estimate at 532 nm is better than ±0.03 for all cases.