An iterative calculation to derive extinction-to-backscatter ratio based on lidar measurements

The aerosol optical thickness (AOT) is an important parameter for understanding the radiative impact of aerosols. AOT based on lidar measurements is often limited by its finite detection range. In this paper, we have reported a method of fitting and iterative calculation to derive the extinction profile of background aerosols from 0 to 30 krn at 532 nm, which is virtually the AOT of the entire atmosphere. The mean extinction derived from this method at the ground level tallies with visibility measurement and it is also consistent with the sun-photometer data, within experimental error. These data have been further treated to study the dust cases. For most of the cases, transmission losses were determined to estimate the extinction as well as lidar ratio. The result of the analysis shows that for background aerosols, a mean lidar ratio of 47 +/- 15sr was found. For dust layers, a mean lidar ratio of 44 +/- 19sr and an optical thickness of 0.53 +/- 0.49 were determined at 532 nm. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.