1. A 1.8 m class pathfinder Raman LIDAR for the northern site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory : technical designOtger Ballester, O. Blanch Bigas, Joan Boix, Paolo G. Calisse, Anna Campoy-Ordaz, Sidika Merve Çolak, Darko Kolar, Samo Stanič, Marko Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2025, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: This paper presents the technical design of the pathfinder Barcelona Raman LIDAR (pbrl) for the northern site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (Northern site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO-N)) located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM)). The pBRL is developed for continuous atmospheric characterization, essential for correcting high-energy gamma-ray observations captured by Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs). The LIDAR consists of a steerable telescope with a 1.8 m parabolic mirror and a pulsed Nd:YAG laser with frequency doubling and tripling. It emits at wavelengths of 355 nm and 532 nm to measure aerosol scattering and extinction through two elastic and Raman channels. Built upon a former Cherenkov Light Ultraviolet Experiment (Cherenkov Light Ultraviolet Experiment (CLUE)) telescope, the pBRL’s design includes a Newtonian mirror configuration, a coaxial laser beam, a near-range system, a liquid light guide and a custom-made polychromator. During a one-year test at the ORM, the stability of the LIDAR and semi-remote-controlled operations were tested. This pathfinder leads the way to designing a final version of a Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) Raman LIDAR which will provide real-time atmospheric monitoring and, as such, ensure the necessary accuracy of scientific data collected by the CTAO-N telescope array. Ključne besede: Raman LIDAR, design, aerosols, atmospheric effects, gamma-ray astrophysics, IACTs, polychromator, Liquid Light Guide, Licel, PMT Objavljeno v RUNG: 19.03.2025; Ogledov: 344; Prenosov: 2
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2. Optical properties of near-surface urban aerosols and their chemical tracing in a Mediterranean city (Athens)Dimitris Katsanos, Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Eleni Liakakou, Dimitris G. Kaskaoutis, Iasonas Stavroulas, D. Paraskevopoulou, Maria Lianou, Basil E. Psiloglou, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, Christodoulos Pilinis, 2019, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: One-year measurements (October 2016–September 2017) of aerosol optical properties in the Athens urban environment were analyzed; for closure purposes, the results were supported by data of chemical composition of the non-refractory submicron aerosol fraction acquired with an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM). Both the spectral scattering (bsca) and absorption (babs) coefficients exhibit a pronounced annual variability with higher values (63.6 Mm–1 at 550 nm and 41.0 Mm–1 at 520 nm, respectively) in winter, due to domestic heating releasing increased carbonaceous emissions and the shallow mixing layer trapping aerosols near the surface. Much lower values (33.5 Mm–1 and 22.9 Mm–1 for bsca and babs, respectively) are found during summer, indicating rather aged aerosols from regional sources. The estimations of the dry spectral single scattering albedo (SSA), scattering (SAE) and absorption (AAE) Ångström exponents focus on the seasonality of the urban aerosols. The high SAE (~2.0) and low SSA (0.62 ± 0.11) values throughout the year indicate the dominance of fine-absorbing aerosols from fossil-fuel combustion, while the high AAE (~1.5) in winter suggests enhanced presence of biomass-burning aerosols. Pronounced morning and late evening/night peaks are found in both bsca and babs during winter, coinciding with the morning traffic rush hour and increased residential wood burning in the evening, while in the other seasons, the diurnal patterns flatten out. The wind speed strongly affects the aerosol loading and properties in winter, since for winds below 3 m s–1, a high increase in bsca and babs is observed, consistent with low dilution processes and hazy/smoggy conditions. Our closure experiments indicate a good agreement (R2 = 0.91, slope = 1.08) between the reconstructed and measured bsca values and reveal that organic matter contributes about half of the sub-micron mass in winter, followed by sulfate (~40%) and nitrate (10%, only in winter) aerosols. Ključne besede: urban aerosols, light scattering, absorption, chemical species, wood burning, Athens Objavljeno v RUNG: 10.05.2024; Ogledov: 1423; Prenosov: 5
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3. Anthropic settlementsʹ impact on the light-absorbing aerosol concentrations and heating rate in the arcticNiccolò Losi, Piotr Markuszewski, Martin Rigler, Asta Gregorič, Griša Močnik, Violetta Drozdowska, Przemek Makuch, Tymon Zielinski, Paulina Pakszys, Małgorzata Kitowska, 2023, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: Light-absorbing aerosols (LAA) impact the atmosphere by heating it. Their effect in the Arctic was investigated during two summer Arctic oceanographic campaigns (2018 and 2019) around the Svalbard Archipelago in order to unravel the differences between the Arctic background and the local anthropic settlements. Therefore, the LAA heating rate (HR) was experimentally determined. Both the chemical composition and high-resolution measurements highlighted substantial differences between the Arctic Ocean background (average eBC concentration of 11.7 ± 0.1 ng/m3) and the human settlements, among which the most impacting appeared to be Tromsø and Isfjorden (mean eBC of 99.4 ± 3.1 ng/m3). Consequently, the HR in Isfjorden (8.2 × 10−3 ± 0.3 × 10−3 K/day) was one order of magnitude higher than in the pristine background conditions (0.8 × 10−3 ± 0.9 × 10−5 K/day). Therefore, we conclude that the direct climate impact of local LAA sources on the Arctic atmosphere is not negligible and may rise in the future due to ice retreat and enhanced marine traffic. Ključne besede: light-absorbing aerosols, black carbon, climate change, heating rate Objavljeno v RUNG: 21.12.2023; Ogledov: 2756; Prenosov: 112
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4. Consistent determination of the heating rate of light-absorbing aerosol using wavelength- and time-dependent Aethalometer multiple-scattering correctionLuca Ferrero, Vera Bernardoni, Luca Santagostini, Sergio Cogliati, Francesca Soldan, Sara Valentini, Dario Massabò, Griša Močnik, Asta Gregorič, Martin Rigler, 2021, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: Accurate and temporally consistent measurements of light absorbing aerosol (LAA) heating rate (HR) and of its source apportionment (fossil-fuel, FF; biomass-burning, BB) and speciation (black and brown Carbon; BC, BrC) are needed to evaluate LAA short-term climate forcing. For this purpose, wavelength- and time-dependent accurate LAA absorption coefficients are required. HR was experimentally determined and apportioned (sources/species) in the EMEP/ACTRIS/COLOSSAL-2018 winter campaign in Milan (urban-background site). Two Aethalometers (AE31/AE33) were installed together with a MAAP, CPC, OPC, a low volume sampler (PM2.5) and radiation instruments. AE31/AE33 multiple-scattering correction factors (C) were determined using two reference systems for the absorption coefficient: 1) 5-wavelength PP_UniMI with low time resolution (12 h, applied to PM2.5 samples); 2) timely-resolved MAAP data at a single wavelength. Using wavelength- and time-independent C values for the AE31 and AE33 obtained with the same reference device, the total HR showed a consistency (i.e. reproducibility) with average values comparable at 95% probability. However, if different reference devices/approaches are used, i.e. MAAP is chosen as reference instead of a PP_UniMI, the HR can be overestimated by 23-30% factor (by both AE31/AE33). This became more evident focusing on HR apportionment: AE33 data (corrected by a wavelength- and time-independent C) showed higher HRFF (+24±1%) and higher HRBC (+10±1%) than that of AE31. Conversely, HRBB and HRBrC were -28±1% and -29±1% lower for AE33 compared to AE31. These inconsistencies were overcome by introducing a wavelength-dependent Cλ for both AE31 and AE33, or using multi-wavelength apportionment methods, highlighting the need for further studies on the influence of wavelength corrections for HR determination.
Finally, the temporally-resolved determination of C resulted in a diurnal cycle of the HR not statistically different whatever the source- speciation- apportionment used. Ključne besede: climate change, heating rate, black carbon, light absorbing aerosols Objavljeno v RUNG: 09.06.2021; Ogledov: 3450; Prenosov: 0 Gradivo ima več datotek! Več... |