Field deployment and initial results from micro-pulse lidar systems during NASA's DISCOVER AQ campaign

To further improve satellite analysis of surface pollution and related atmospheric and air quality forecast models, NASA conducted the DISCOVER-AQ Mission in the Baltimore-Washington region during July 2011. Data were collected from a combination of surface sites and research aircraft to provide a comprehensive assessment of the conditions leading up to and during air pollution events. Surface sensors included micro-pulse lidar (MPL) systems at various locations, forming a regional scale lidar network that provided continuous atmospheric backscatter profiling of aerosols and clouds throughout the campaign time-frame. Some of the sites used the Sigma Space "MiniMPL", a newer version of MPL that is smaller and more compact, but with a more limited range when compared to conventional MPL systems. One of these systems was deployed on the NOAA research vessel R-8501 SRVX from July 14-20, to enable atmospheric profiling on the Chesapeake Bay. In addition, two established NASA-MPLNET sites in the region (NASA-GSFC/Greenbelt MD & UMBC/Catonsville, MD), provide additional profiling data sources that benefit DISCOVER-AQ efforts. An overview and data status will be provided for the MPLs operating in the region, including site descriptions and examples of aerosol and cloud features during polluted and non-polluted conditions. By providing continuous profiling during the campaign, the MPL systems provide an important link to help relate in-situ surface, airborne, and space-based column-integrated measurements, and enable a more detailed study of a variety of conditions such as aerosol transport, diurnal cycle characteristics, and planetary boundary layer heights and dynamics.