Research in Depolarization and Extinction Coefficient of Particles in Tibetan Plateau by Lidar

Abstract

Vertical profiles of the depolarization ratio and the extinction coefficient of atmospheric particles in Tibetan Plateau were measured with the OUC Water Vapor, Cloud and Aerosol Lidar during the 3rd Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Expedition Experiment Campaign in 2013 and 2014. The cloud types and phases, the spatial temporal distribution of the aerosols and the boundary layer height in the Tibetan Plateau were obtained using polarization lidar technique. In this paper, the depolarization ratio was validated with CALIOP polarization simultaneous data, and the extinction coefficient was retrieved by the Fernald method. The result implied that the atmosphere in the Tibetan Plateau was quite clean with low aerosol load and serious pollution. The ice-water mixed cumulus, water cumulus or stratus clouds in Litang and Nagqu were occurred and classified, respectively. The boundary layer height in Nagqu at average altitude over 4600 m was obtained at around 200 m-300 m, which was commonly lower than that in other observed sites.