Raymetrics participates in ASKOS Aeolus CAL/VAL Campaign

Athens, 01.07.2021 @Raymetrics #eVeLidar lidar operates in Cape Verde in operation for the @ESA wind satellite Aeolus ALADIN onboard ESA-Aeolus satellite mission, is a Doppler Wind Lidar (DWL) operating in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum (355 nm), implemented in a transceiver configuration, and tilted 35° from nadir in order to provide line-of-sight wind profiles. It is also a High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL), capable of deriving aerosol optical parameters such as backscatter and extinction coefficient profiles as well as the extinction-to-backscatter (lidar) ratio at 355 nm. ALADIN emits circularly polarized radiation but detects only the co-polarized component of the backscattered radiation. This limitation has almost negligible impact when spherical aerosol particles are probed. However, when non-spherical, depolarizing particles, such as desert dust, volcanic ash, and ice crystals are present, an uncertainty introduced on the aerosol backscatter coefficient retrieval due to the misdetection cross-polarized component. The validation of Aeolus products is particularly important in the tropics, where the Aeolus measurements are expected to have a large positive influence on numerical weather forecasts and Saharan dust outbreaks occasionally disturb the laser signal. The National Observatory of Athens and Raymetrics have now set up a team of Lidar experts on the OCEAN SCIENCE CENTRE MINDELO on the Cape Verde Islands as part of this measurement campaign in order to cover already the peak season of Saharan dust transport from Africa towards the Atlantic in June/July (https://askos.space.noa.gr/). The National Observatory of Athens (NOA) has installed the #eVeLidar developed for the European Space Agency (ESA) by Raymetrics S.A. in collaboration with National Observatory of Athens (NOA) and Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (LMU). eVe Lidar is a combined linear/circular polarization system, capable of providing well-characterized fiducial reference measurements of aerosol optical properties (https://raymetrics.com/eve-lidar/). eVe Lidar has already started the measurements from the ground to provide parallel observations to the lidar measurements from space during the main dust season in the tropical Atlantic. More information https://evelidar.eu/

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