PNNL

Abstract

We present here representative results about a comparison of aerosol optical depth (AOD) using different instruments during three short and intensive campaigns carried out from 1999 to 2001 at El Arenosillo (Huelva, Spain). The specific aim of this study is to determine the level of agreement between three different instruments operating at our station. This activity, however, is part of a broader objective to recover an extended data series of AOD in the UV range obtained from a Brewer spectroradiometer. This instrument may be used to obtain AOD at the same five UV wavelengths used during normal operation for ozone content determination. As part of the validation of the Brewer AOD data recovery process, a Cimel sun photometer and another spectroradiometer, a Licor1800, were used. The Licor1800 spectroradiometer (which covers the spectral range 300-1100 nm) was the first instrument used at this station for aerosol monitoring (1996-99) and it was operated during these intercomparison campaigns (1999-2001) specifically to assess the continuity of the AOD data series. The Cimel sunphotometer was installed at our station at the beginning of 2000 as part of AERONET to provide AOD data over the visible and near infrared spectrum. A detailed comparison of these three instruments is carried out by means of near-simultaneous measurements, with particular emphasis on examining any diurnal AOD variability that may be linked with calibration and/or measurement errors or real atmospheric variability. Because the comparison is carried out from UV (320nm) to near infrared (1020nm) wavelengths under all possible atmospheric conditions (including clouds), AOD values range from near zero up to 1. Absolute AOD uncertainties range from 0.02 for the Cimel to 0.08 for the Brewer, with intermediate values for the Licor1800. All the values during the comparison are in reasonable agreement, when taking into account the different performance characteristics of each instrument. The comparison also demonstrates current deficiencies in the Brewer data and thus the difficulty to determine AOD values with low errors.