Assimilating spaceborne lidar dust extinction can improve dust forecasts

Atmospheric mineral dust has a rich tri-dimensional spatial and temporal structure that is poorly constrained in forecasts and analyses when only column-integrated aerosol optical depth (AOD) is assimilated. At present, this is the case of most operational global aerosol assimilation products. Aerosol vertical distributions obtained from spaceborne lidars can be assimilated in aerosol models, but questions about the extent of their benefit upon analyses and forecasts along with their consistency with AOD assimilation remain unresolved. Our study thoroughly explores the added value of assimilating spaceborne vertical dust profiles, with and without the joint assimilation of dust optical depth (DOD). We also discuss the consistency in the assimilation of both sources of information and analyse the role of the smaller footprint of the spaceborne lidar profiles in the results. To that end, we have performed data assimilation experiments using dedicated dust observations for a period of 2 months over northern Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. We assimilate DOD derived from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on board Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SUOMI-NPP) Deep Blue and for the first time Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarisation (CALIOP)-based LIdar climatology of Vertical Aerosol Structure for space-based lidar simulation studies (LIVAS) pure-dust extinction coefficient profiles on an aerosol model. The evaluation is performed against independent ground-based DOD derived from AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) Sun photometers and ground-based lidar dust extinction profiles from the Cyprus Clouds Aerosol and Rain Experiment (CyCARE) and PREparatory: does dust TriboElectrification affect our ClimaTe (Pre-TECT) field campaigns. Jointly assimilating LIVAS and Deep Blue data reduces the root mean square error (RMSE) in the DOD by 39 % and in the dust extinction coefficient by 65 % compared to a control simulation that excludes assimilation. We show that the assimilation of dust extinction coefficient profiles provides a strong added value to the analyses and forecasts. When only Deep Blue data are assimilated, the RMSE in the DOD is reduced further, by 42 %. However, when only LIVAS data are assimilated, the RMSE in the dust extinction coefficient decreases by 72 %, the largest improvement across experiments. We also show that the assimilation of dust extinction profiles yields better skill scores than the assimilation of DOD under an equivalent sensor footprint. Our results demonstrate the strong potential of future lidar space missions to improve desert dust forecasts, particularly if they foresee a depolarization lidar channel to allow discrimination of desert dust from other aerosol types.

An ab-initio study of electronic and optical properties of RhXO3 (X = Ga, Ag) perovskites

The ab-initio computations were performed to study the electronic and optoelectronic properties of RhXO3 (X = Ga, Ag) using WIEN2k code. The RhGaO3 has band gap of 2.29 eV, and the behavior of RhAgO3 metallic. The sub-TDOS of the studied materials revealed that rhodium and oxygen atoms have significant contributions in the valence band and conduction band formation of both materials. The silver cation is responsible for the reasonable peaks appearing at the Fermi level of RhAgO3, which demonstrated the conducting nature of RhAgO3. The dielectric functions, optical conductivity, energy loss function, absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient, and reflectivity are computed for these materials to understand the optical behavior of the studied materials. The analysis of optical properties ensure the RhGaO3 is a promising material for optoelectronics while RhAgO3 has metallic nature.

Theranostics of skin neoplasms based on luminescence diagnostics in combination with photodynamic therapy in the absorption band of porphyrin

We report the results of developing a technique for theranostics of skin neoplasms based on luminescence diagnostics in combination with photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the absorption band of porphyrin. It is shown that the therapeutic effect is achieved exclusively due to PDT, without the participation of the hyperthermia process, which occurs at temperatures above 42 °C. The Fluroscan gel [based on the dipotassium salt of the ytterbium complex of 2,4-di-(a-methoxyethyl)deuteroporphyrin IX (Yb-DMDP)] is used as a preparation for theranostics. The main photophysical properties and possible mechanisms of accumulation of nanosized low-toxic photosensitisers based on this compound are studied. It is shown that the Yb-DMDP compound in a DMSO solution (30% aqueous DMSO) enhances photophysical characteristics (luminescence lifetime 5-10 ms, luminescence quantum yield up to 1%, extinction coefficient ~1.96 × 105 M-1 cm-1 at a wavelength of 398 nm). Experimental animals are used to test the proposed technique for theranostics of tumours using the Fluroscan gel and a fibre-optic laser fluorimeter.

Atmospheric extinction related to aerosol mass concentration and meteorological conditions in the atmosphere of Qena (Egypt)

The dependence of the atmospheric extinction on aerosols concentration, temperature and wind speed is demonstrated. The atmospheric extinction was determined by measuring the transmission loss of radiation from alight source across 36 cm path with a photocell detector Conclusion include a general association of high extinction with high aerosols concentration, temperature and wind speed, but there are no one-to-one relationships. A correlation study between the extinction coefficient and each of these parameters was performed.

UAVC: A New Method for Correcting Lidar Overlap Factors Based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Vertical Detection

A method to calibrate the overlap factor of Lidar is proposed, named unmanned aerial vehicle correction (UAVC), which uses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to detect the vertical distribution of particle concentrations. The conversion relationship between the particulate matter concentration and the aerosol extinction coefficient is inverted by the high-altitude coincidence of the vertical detection profiles of the UAV and Lidar. Using this conversion relationship, the Lidar signal without the influence of the overlap factor can be inverted. Then, the overlap factor profile is obtained by comparing the signal with the original Lidar signal. A 355 nm Raman-Mie Lidar and UAV were used to measure overlap factors under different weather conditions. After comparison with the Raman method, it is found that the overlap factors calculated by the two methods are in good agreement. The changing trend of the extinction coefficient at each height is relatively consistent, after comparing the inversion result of the corrected Lidar signal with the ground data. The results show that after the continuously measured Lidar signal is corrected by the overlap factor measured by this method, low-altitude aerosol information can be effectively obtained.

Assessment of influence of urban aerosol vertical profile on clear-sky diffuse radiance pattern

Aerosol particles spread in the atmosphere play an important role in solar light scattering and thus co-determine the sky radiance/luminance pattern as well as diffuse irradiances/illuminances at the ground. The particular influence is given by their optical properties and by their distribution in the atmosphere. The dependence of the aerosol extinction coefficient on altitude is usually described by the exponential law, which results from averaging of a large amount of aerosol realizations. This is also frequently the case of simulating of the solar diffuse radiance/luminance distribution over the sky, when it is based on solving the radiative transfer problem. However, the aerosol vertical profile can sometimes be significantly different from the exponential one. Mainly in the urban environment, the aerosol is often well-mixed within the atmospheric boundary layer, so its volume extinction coefficient is almost constant there. This work investigates how such different profiles affect the clear sky radiance pattern and consequently also the ground-based horizontal diffuse irradiance. The numerical simulations reveal that the discrepancies are negligible in practice. So it appears that the aerosol vertical distribution does not play any important role in sky radiance calculations and the standard exponential law is general enough to cover also various specific aerosol conditions.

Influence of C=O groups on the optical extinction coefficient of graphene exfoliated in liquid phase

LiLiquid phase exfoliation of graphite is currently one of the most promising graphene production methods at large scale. For this reason, an accurate calculation of the concentration in graphene dispersions is important for standardization and commercialization. Here, graphene dispersions, at high concentrations, were produced by electrochemical exfoliation. Furthermore, a cleaner methodology to obtain graphene oxide by electrochemical exfoliation at high acid concentrations was implemented. The absorption coefficient for graphene and graphene oxide was determined in the optical range ($\alpha_{660nm}=$ 1414 ($\pm$3\%) mL mg$^{-1}$ m$^{-1}$ and $\alpha_{660nm}=$ 648 ($\pm$ 7\%) mL mg$^{-1}$ m$^{-1}$, respectively) with an exponential dependence with the wavelength. The difference in $\alpha$ for both materials is attributed to an increased presence of C=O groups as evidenced by FTIR, UV-vis and Raman spectroscopy, as well as, in the calculation of the opical extinction coefficient and optical band-gap via Tauc-plots.

Obliquely Bideposited TiN Thin Film with Morphology-Dependent Optical Properties

TiN thin films were obliquely bideposited with different subdeposit thicknesses. The morphology of the bideposited film was varied from a nano-zigzag array to a vertically grown columnar structure by reducing the subdeposit thickness. The principal index of refraction and extinction coefficient were obtained to explain the measured reflectance and transmittance spectra. The loss of the bideposited thin film decreased as the thickness of the subdeposit decreased. The principal indices for normal incidence were near or under unity, indicating the low reflection by the bideposited thin films. A TiN film with a subdeposit thickness of 3 nm demonstrated an average index of refraction of 0.83 and extinction coefficient of below 0.2 for visible wavelengths. The retrieved principal refractive indexes explained the anisotropic transmission and reflection. For most normal incident cases, the analysis offers the tunable anisotropic property of a TiN nanostructured film for multilayer design in the future.

The Study of Optical and Electrical Properties of Nanostructured Silicon Carbide Thin Films Grown by Pulsed-Laser Deposition

In this paper, nanostructured silicon carbide (SiC) thin films are deposited onto glass substrate using pulsed laser deposition technique. Electrical and optical characterizations such as conductivity, resistivity, transmission, Seeback effect, absorption, absorption coefficient, energy band gap, and extinction coefficient as a function of photon energy, and the effect of thin films thickness on transmission are carried out to characterize the prepared samples. Results showed that the prepared SiC thin film is an n-type semiconductor with an indirect bandgap of ~3 eV, 448 nm cutoff wavelength, 3.4395 × 104 cm−1 absorption coefficient and 0.154 extinction coefficient. The surface morphology of the SiC thin films is studied using scanning electron microscope at a substrate temperature of 400 °C and it is found that the grain size of the prepared SiC thin film is about 30 nm. As such, the nano thin films optical and structural characteristics enable the films to be used as gases sensors in many optoelectronic devices such as the environment and ultraviolet photodiode.

An Aerosol Extinction Coefficient Retrieval Method and Characteristics Analysis of Landscape Images

Images based on RGB pixel values were used to measure the extinction coefficient of aerosols suspended in an atmospheric state. The pixel values of the object-image depend on the target-object reflection ratio, reflection direction, object type, distances, illumination intensity, atmospheric particle extinction coefficient, and scattering angle between the sun and the optical axes of the camera, among others. Therefore, the imaged intensity cannot directly provide information on the aerosol concentration or aerosol extinction coefficient. This study proposes simple methods to solve this problem, which yield reasonable extinction coefficients at the three effective RGB wavelengths. Aerosol size information was analogized using the RGB Ångström exponent measured at the three wavelengths for clean, dusty, rainy, Asian dust storm, and foggy days. Additionally, long-term measurements over four months showed reasonable values compared with existing PM2.5 measurements and the proposed method yields useful results.