Comparison of Cirrus Cloud Characteristics as Estimated by A Micropulse Ground-Based Lidar and A Spaceborne Lidar CALIOP Datasets Over Lille, France (50.60 °N, 3.14 ° E)

Abstract

Our goal is to establish a climatology of cirrus cloud properties over Lille, France (50.60°N, 3.14 °E) using a ground-based lidar. A statistical analysis of mid-latitude cirrus clouds from lidar data in Lille over the period 2008-2013 is presented and discussed. The macrophysical properties (cloud base altitude, cloud top altitude, geometrical thickness, mid-cloud temperature) and optical properties (cloud optical thickness and lidar ratio) are evaluated and compared between the ground-based and the spaceborne lidar CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) measurements for the period 2008-2013. We found similar results of macrophysical properties derived from both lidars. In addition a difference in the optical properties results is due to the multiple scattering and the heterogeneity of the observed scenes.