Lidar measurements of spring dusts in 2002 at Chung-Li (25°N, 121°E)

Lidar observations have been carried out for the dust storms arrival in Taiwan during the springtime in 2002. The dust occurrence, height distributions and transport processes have been investigated. Lidar measurements revealed the largest and smallest dust storms that attacked Taiwan in 2002. The cases of high concentration of aerosols are investigated by comparing with ground particulate measurements (PM10), satellite images, and trajectory studies., Two strong cases were measured by the lidar during the spring time of 2002. The first one was the March 18 - 19 dust event, which was also detected by the ground base instrument. The second one was on March 23, which was measured by lidar as. a major event but only weakly detected by ground instruments. By comparing with satellite data and back trajectory studies, we found the March 23 event might be a case of biomass burning originated from Southeast Asia. A correlation of lidar integrated signal with the relative humidity indicates a possibility of modification of dust particles by moisture during the transport process.