Vertical and spatial distribution of dust from aircraft and satellite measurements during the GERBILS field campaign

The Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget Intercomparisons of Longwave and Shortwave (GERBILS) radiation field experiment was conducted in June 2007 over North Africa to study dust aerosols from aircraft, satellite, and ground measurements. We present results from a case study on June 21, 2007 where coincident measurements from a space borne lidar, aircraft profiles, and multiple satellite instruments from the A-Train are available around 1430 UTC. Backscatter measurements from the space-borne lidar indicate that dust aerosols are present between the surface and altitudes of 4 – 6 km, which agrees well with aircraft measurements. For low AOD (AOD < 1), the agreement between satellite and aircraft-derived values and amongst the satellite products are within 0.1– 0.2. However, most satellite products underestimate AOD when aircraft AOD’s are higher (AOD > 1). New satellite sensors coupled with new algorithms are now providing valuable information over desert regions to assess aerosol impacts on climate, air quality and other applications.