CSIR South Africa mobile LIDAR—First scientific results: comparison with satellite, sun photometer and model simulations

M. Tesfaye; W. Alemu; D. Moema; A. Sharma; C. Bollig; G. Mengistu; V. Sivakumar

Authors

M. Tesfaye National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
W. Alemu National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Department of Physics, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
D. Moema National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.
A. Sharma National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
C. Bollig National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
G. Mengistu Department of Physics, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
V. Sivakumar National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.

Abstract

We present the first scientific results from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - National Laser Centre (CSIR-NLC) mobile LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) and its validation and comparison with other ground-based and space-borne measurements. The LIDAR results are compared with aerosol extinction measurements from the Stratosphere Aerosol Gas Experiment (SAGE) II, optical depth derived from sun photometers employed under the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) and backscatter coefficients simulated from weather balloon humidity measurements.

Author Biographies

M. Tesfaye, National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.

Department of Physics, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
W. Alemu, National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Department of Physics, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Department of Physics, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.