Procedia

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Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

Environmental
Procedia Environmental
Procedia Sciences
Environmental 00 (2011)
Sciences 000–000
11 (2011) 960 – 969
Sciences
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

Vertical Distribution Shapes of Dust Aerosol and the Relation

with Atmospheric Condition
Zhang Jie1,a, Tang Congguo2
1
Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster (KLMD), Ministry of Education and Jiangsu Province， Nanjing University of
Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, China, 210044,
2
Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China;
a
Email: gs-zhangjie@163.com

Abstract

Vertical distribution of aerosols under different atmospheric conditions in the free troposphere is directly observed
using surface micro-pulse lidar and microwave radiometer TP/WVP-3000 at the Semi-Arid Climate & Environment
Observatory of Lanzhou University (SACOL, 35.95°N, 104.1°E) in the west of the Loess Plateau, China in Spring of
2008. The study shows that the aerosol vertical distribution with altitude increasing has three shapes: a single peak
under stable atmospheric conditions and free sand effects, an exponential decrease under unstable atmospheric
conditions and sand storm stages, and slight change in the mixed layer and at the first and last stage of sand storm
process. Due to the impact of the top atmospheric boundary, diurnal variation of aerosol extinction coefficient shows
a single peak, which is higher in the afternoon and lower in the morning. Observations from SACOL show that
aerosol extinction coefficient in the layers with altitude below and above 1 km is positively and negatively correlated
to the relative atmospheric humidity, respectively, suggesting that water soluble chemicals are mixed with aerosol in
the altitude below but not above 1 km during sandstorm process.
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the Intelligent Information Technology Application
Research Association.

Keywords: Aerosol profile; relative atmospheric humidity; distribution shape; upper boundary

1. Introduction

The troposphere aerosols play an important role in the Earth’s climate: they attenuate solar
radiation[1], affect the infrared balance[2] and, indirectly, influence the cloud structure and properties[3-
4]. Sandstorm is one of the most frequently occurred meteorological disasters in East Asia. Studies have
shown that dust aerosols originated in the Taklimakan Desert, the other deserts in northwest of China and
the Gobi region are not only frequently present in the troposphere, but also transported to the free
atmosphere and to eastern China, Korea and Japan through long-distance atmospheric circulation[5-6],
even spread eastward to the Pacific and North America along with westerly airflow[7-8]. Transportation
of aerosols in the atmosphere, on one hand, produces atmospheric radiation forcing in its passed region[9-

1878-0296 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the Intelligent Information Technology Application Research Association.
doi:10.1016/j.proenv.2011.12.147
 Zhang Jie
Author nameand/ Tang Congguo
Procedia / Procedia Environmental
Environmental Sciences 00Sciences 11 (2011) 960 – 969
(2011) 000–000 961

10], resulting in heating effect on short-wave radiation and cooling effect on the long-wave radiation[11];
on the other hand, exhibits complex chemical and optical properties due to the contamination of other
types of aerosols during the transportation process[12-14]. Therefore, dust aerosols in the troposphere
have an important extinction effect on the surface climate [1], directly affecting the balance of the surface
infrared radiation[15-16] and indirectly affecting the structure and properties of clouds[4].
Understanding the vertical distribution of aerosols in the free atmospheric troposphere is of
significance in the assessment of aerosol effects on climate. Liao and Seinfeld[17]have pointed out that
the net (short-wave plus long wave) radioactive forcing on the top of atmosphere (TOA) under clear sky
is highly sensitive to the altitude of dust aerosol distribution. Meloni et al. [18] have found that the
intensity of short wave radiative forcing on TOA has strong consistency with vertical distribution of
aerosols. Kim et al. [11] have demonstrated that the water vapor distribution in Asian dust layer can
increase the heating rate of the net radiation, and the water vapor change is related to the vertical
distribution of heating rate. Therefore, the vertical distribution of dust aerosol is a key parameter in
objective evaluation of dust aerosol radiative forcing and other climatic effects[19-20]. Moreover, given
the difference between the impacts of long-distance transportation and weather conditions, understanding
the absorption properties of dust in different regions will help to improve the parameterization of the
aerosol vertical distribution and eventually provide background field for the aerosol model, climate
model[21]and improvement of satellite remote sensing algorithms[22].
Existing observation and simulation modeling studies have shown that aerosols from long-distance
transportation are originated from anthropogenic and natural emissions[23]. In the regions where multi-
aerosol originated, the vertical distribution of aerosols is more complex due to the difference of aerosol
properties and weather conditions of aerosol origination regions. Most of the aerosol is distributed within
the boundary layer; the aerosols from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau can be transferred to the tropopause.
Affected by the relative stronger power transportation, stratospheric aerosols from the plateau even can be
observed from the CALIPSO satellite[24]. In addition, aerosols in arid desert area can also be conveyed
into the free atmosphere by power transportation, dry heat convection[25], dust tornado[26] and other
means. Thus, the vertical distribution of aerosols is highly uncertain, especially in the regions affected by
multi-source aerosols.
Micro-pulse lidar (MPL) has been widely used around the world and provided feasibility for
understanding the vertical structure of dust aerosol and its physical properties[27]. In 2008, Sino-US Joint
Dust and Sand Trial utilized equipments such as laser radar(MPL-4) and microwave radiometer[28] to
collect data in SACOL (the Semi-Arid Climate & Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University),
Zhangye Station, Jingtai Station and to establish valuable sand/dust database on the vertical distribution
of aerosols and the environmental condition and land surface process of the atmosphere. In this study, we
analyzed the vertical distribution characteristics of aerosol extinction coefficient at SACOL obtained by
MPL in order to provide information for parameterization of the aerosol vertical distribution in climate
model and aerosol model. The observation information is showed in section 2. Aerosol extinction
coefficient is retrieved from the quantitative discussions of the vertical structure of aerosol related to
LIDAR in section 3. Aerosol vertical characters are analyzed in section 4. Our MPL measurements should
lead to reliable analysis of aerosol vertical structure, and characterize the particle size distribution of
desert dust, expanding understanding of impact of aerosols on climate.

2. Micro-Pulse LIDAR (MPL-4) and observations

Aerosol vertical distribution (extinction coefficient) is measured using a Micro-Pulse Lidar system
(MPL-4, Sigma Space) . The MPL has one measurement channel that records backscatter signals up to
20+ km. The primary quantity from this signal is the lowest detected cloud base in meters. Additional
quantities possibly returened through post-processing of the raw signal include a relative backscatter
profile at 527 nm. From the relative backscatter profile, other data products are possible including
962 AuthorZhang
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/ Procedia Congguo / Procedia Environmental
Sciences Sciences
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multiple cloud decks, cloud and layer boundaries, as well as aerosol extinction and backscatter profiles.
After the new units are deployed, cloud phase information will also be available. The data were obtained
from the website http://climate.lzu.edu.cn. A sun photometer was installed at the observation stations.
Data aerosol optical thickness obtained by the sun photometer was compared with those obtained by the
laser radar to test the accuracy.
The purpose of the Sino-US Joint Trial is to further understand the climate impacts of aerosols,
especially dust aerosols, as well as the impacts of dust aerosols on cloud reflectivity and precipitation
processes in East Asia. SACOL, located in the Loess Plateau (35.95 °N, 104.1 °E), was the main site of
the trial[28]; SACOL mobile platform SMF (SACOL's Mobile Facility) was placed in Jingtai (37.57 ºN,
104.23 ºE); the third set of atmospheric radiation measurement device SMART-COMMIT was placed in
Zhangye (39.08 ºN, 100.27 ºE). These three stations were distributed from west to east, together forming
the micro-pulse lidar network (MPLnet) of sandstorm transportation [29]. Because its west is closed to
the Taklimakan Desert,a major dust source area, and its north face the Tengger Desert and Badain Jaran
Desert, sand storm at SACOL is the result of transmission from outer origin, while city aerosol acts as the
local origin. MPL provided real-time vertical backscatter profile images during day and night. Aerosol
optical depth measured with the sun-photometer makes it possible to reduce the uncertainties in the
inversion procedure through which we estimate vertical profile of aerosol extinction. Additional
information about the MPL and SACOL information is available at http://climate.lzu.edu.cn. In addition,
to analyze atmospheric conditions, a microwave radiometer (TP/WVP-3000) was installed in SACOL
stations to measure the atmospheric temperature and water vapor profile below 10 km above the ground.
The instrument has 5 measurement channels with frequency between 22 to 30 GHz and 7 channels with
frequency between 51 to 59 GHz. Microwave radiometer along with infrared thermometer can provide
low-resolution liquid water profile and cloud base temperature.

3. Retrieval method

Aerosol optical thickness 　 was calculated based on aerosol backscatter in MPL:

z2
τ = ∫ σ a ( z )dz
z1

Whereσa is the aerosol extinction coefficient, which can be obtained from calculated backscatter strength
according to Fernald [30]:
Sa
σ a ( z) = − σ m ( z) +
Sm
Sa z0
X ( z ) exp[ 2( − 1) ∫ σ m ( z )dz ]
Sm z

X ( z0 ) z0 S z0
− 2∫ X ( z ) exp[ 2( a − 1) ∫ σ m ( z )dz ]dz
S z Sm z
σ a ( z 0 ) + a σ m ( z0 )
Sm

where X(z) is the obtained normalized signal; P(z)z2 is the corrected backscatter intensity[31]; P(z) is the
returned signal of particles to the sensor; z0 is the observation altitude of the radar; z is the distance of the
radar to the particle; σm is the extinction coefficient of regional atmospheric molecules obtained from the
vertical structure of atmospheric molecular density calculated based on the U.S. standard atmospheric
model and the Mie scattering theory; βa is aerosol backscatter coefficient, σa is the molecular aerosol
extinction coefficient, Sa=σa/βa is between 20 and 70; βm is molecular backscatter coefficient,
Sm=σm/βm=8π/3; Δz=0.075 km, is the height difference between height z and z+1.
 Zhang Jie
Author nameand/ Tang Congguo
Procedia / Procedia Environmental
Environmental Sciences 00Sciences 11 (2011) 960 – 969
(2011) 000–000 963

4. Results and Analysis

4.1 Temporal and vertical distribution of dust aerosol extinction coefficient

During sand storm processing, dust aerosol distribution changed with atmosphere condition. Figure 1
shows vertical profiles of aerosol extinction coefficient through a sand storm case, the sand storm process
lasted for three days from 12:00 am on May 1 to the evening on May 3. Strong aerosol extinction
characters was observed at an altitude from surface to 4 km ,aerosol content was increased up to 5km
level since 12:00 on May 1, and upper boundary of aerosol distribution was obvious. It is clear that
distribution heights in the three days were different, upper boundary of aerosol distribution was higher at
the first day, ranging from 2km to 5km, with high aerosol layer and content on the top of aerosol layer
since 16:00 LST. On May 2, upper boundary of aerosol layer was remarkably decreased to a state below
2km before 12:00 am, and then increased a little at noon, the upper boundary was about 2.5km. There was
a aerosol layer between 5km and 8km, showing the high altitude aerosol due to convective lifting of
aerosols from distant sources transported by horizontal air movement [28]. At the third day, the height of
aerosol layer kept within 2km before 12:00 am, with a little increase at noon, the second peak can be
found at about 2km level, indicating high altitude aerosol layers. The lower altitude peak was possible
locally aerosols. These structures suggest that the presence of strong turbulent mixed aerosols from near
surface levels or from outer sources. On May 4, Extinction coefficient less than 0.4, which reached
normal value under sunny day, indicating aerosol distribution under free sand storm. From the sand storm
processing, it is found that upper boundary was higher in the daytime and lower in the nighttime, with the
peak of upper boundary in the afternoon. Meanwhile, upper boundary was high under free sand storm .

4.2 Aerosol vertical profile

In order to analyze extinction coefficient distribution during sand processing (from May 1 to May 3),
figure 2 shows vertical profile of aerosol extinction coefficient in the late at night, morning, afternoon and
evening from May 1 to May 4, and a sunny day (May 4) can be regarded as contrast of aerosol
distribution. Upper boundary of extinction coefficient is defined as the level when the difference between
aerosol and air molecule extinction coefficient is less than 0.02. Extinction coefficient of each of the four
days is different from each other. During sand storm stage, extinction coefficient was increased on
different levels below 5km, according to the distribution shape, four stages were defined . On the first
stage of sandstorm (in afternoon and evening on May 1), the extinction coefficient increased, the upper
boundary was high up to 3km, and the extinction profile showed a small height gradient between 0.5 and
2km. On the second stage of the sandstorm (from evening on May 1 to morning on May 3 ), the
extinction profile showed an exponential decrease in height, high value of extinction coefficient reached
2/km near surface .On the third stage of the sandstorm (afternoon on May 1), the extinction profile
showed a small height gradient at the level from 0.5 to 1.5km , and the value reached 0.5. Additionally,
there was another small height gradient at the level from 1.5km to 3km, extinction coefficient was about
0.2, which was the same as the shape in the first stage. On the fourth stage, the extinction profile showed
a para-curve gradient in height, peak value was at about 0.3-0.5km, extinction coefficient was less than
0.5, which was the same as the shape in the late at night and morning on May 1. Therefore, the fourth
stage shows a normal aerosol distribution under sunny days. These four stages and three structures
suggest two possibilities, one is that strong turbulent lifted the aerosols upwards from near surface during
sand storm processing, the other is the convective lifting of aerosols originating from distant sources
transported by horizontal and upper air movement. Certainly, these two possibilities need to be tested in
accordance with atmospheric conditions. Motoaki(Meloni, D.,2005) performed that there were three
typical shapes of vertical dust profiles, according to observed results for aerosol extinction coefficients
between 360 and 1080m at shapoto, a sand and desert region , namely: (I) a stably stratified dust layer
964 AuthorZhang
nameJie and Tang Environmental
/ Procedia Congguo / Procedia Environmental
Sciences Sciences
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(the extinction profile showed an exponential decrease in height), (II) a well-mixed dust layer (the
extinction profile showed a small height gradient), and (III) an elevated dust layer (the extinction profile
showed a positive gradient around the bottom of the layer), these three distribution shapes are still
occurring at SACOL station though SACOL is far from sand source.

4.3 Dust aerosol distribution and atmospheric environment condition

Aerosol distribution is influenced by atmospheric environment. Figure 3 shows aerosol extinction

coefficient, air relative humidity, air temperature and liquid water content from May 1 to May 3. on May
1 2008, sand storm began to occur at about 12:00 am, and air relative humidity became higher, especially
after 16:00 LST, air relative humidity increased up to 60%, high humidity layer was at 5km, the second
humidity layer was at 9km level. According to air relative humidity distribution, high value of aerosol
extinction coefficient appears near 5km , which was transported by horizontal and upper air movement
above 5km, and is regarded as sand cloud. On May 2, high aerosol extinction coefficient existed through
the whole day, air relative humidity existed at 5km, and it decreased a little in the morning and afternoon,
especially at 20:00. Due to less air relative humidity at about 7km, high extinction coefficient at 7km was
deduced as aerosol layer transformed from outer source. On May 3, aerosol extinction coefficient
decreased near surface, but there was high extinction coefficient layer at about 2km before 12:00, with
high air relative humidity from surface to 8km, and there were high value at about 2km, with air relative
humidity higher than 60%, which means that high aerosol layer at 2km was formed by aerosol and
humidity air. The figures of air temperature show that temperatures were high on May 1 and decreased till
May 3. During high extinction coefficient stage, liquid water content was high. Aerosol distributing
shapes is affected by atmospheric environment.

4.4 The relationship between aerosol profiles and atmospheric humidity

Figure 4 shows the relationship between atmospheric humidity observed in SACOL station and
average aerosol extinction coefficient from May 1 to May 4 during 0:00-4:00, 8:00-12:00, 12:00-16:00
and 16:00-20:00. The selected 4 days included one entire dust storm process and one sunny day. In the
area with altitude lower than 1 km, the atmospheric humidity was reversely correlated with the average
aerosol extinction coefficient. Area between altitudes of 1 km and the upper boundary of aerosol, their
relationship was more complex and could be summarized as: 1) during the dust storm, as is shown in
Figures 4a to 4c, the aerosol extinction coefficient was negatively correlated to relative humidity; 2)
before and after the dust storm, as is shown in Figures 4 l to p , the aerosol extinction coefficient was
reversely correlated to relative humidity; 3) during other time, as is shown in Figures d, e, f, g, h, and k,
although the variation trends of air humidity and aerosol extinction coefficient were similar, the
atmospheric humidity did not change significantly. Study[32] has shown that the water soluble substances
in the Asian dust layer could result in an increase of aerosol scattering properties mainly due to reactions
between the aerosol and water-soluble chemicals [33]. During the dust storm, the aerosol extinction
coefficient was not apparently correlated with atmospheric humidity, indicating that water soluble
chemicals were mainly present in lower layer of aerosol below 1 km and did not contribute to the aerosol
in the attitude above 1 km.

4.5 Distribution of aerosol extinction coefficient in spring

Individual analysis indicates that the vertical distribution of dust aerosol has obvious diurnal
variations. Similarly , the average of aerosol extinction coefficient in spring also has a diurnal variation.
The average value was calculated by the data from April and May. Extinction coefficient showed clear
diurnal variety, with a single peak, peak value ranged from 8:00 to 12:00 LST, and the largest variation of
 Zhang Jie
Author nameand/ Tang Congguo
Procedia / Procedia Environmental
Environmental Sciences 00Sciences 11 (2011) 960 – 969
(2011) 000–000 965

extinction coefficient was 0.46/km. The upper boundary of aerosol layer in the lower layer had a single
peak variation during 10:00 to 15:00, the boundary height of its upper layer was between 2 and 3 km.
Diurnal variable of extinction coefficient in spring was the same as in April but different from in May
(figure omitted).
Extinction coefficient profile also shows diurnal variety. Figure (figure omitted) shows extinction
coefficient profile from 0:00 to 6:00, 6:00 to 12:00, 12:00 to 18:00 and 18:00 to 24:00. Upper boundary
of aerosol extinction coefficient was high in the morning and afternoon and low in the evening and late at
night, which was 2.3km, 3.0km, 3.1km and 2.8km, respectively. Average extinction profile showed an
exponential decrease in height above 0.3km, and it increased in height below 0.3km, a stably stratified
dust layer . The distribution shape of extinction coefficient in the morning was similar to the shape of a
well-mixed dust layer (the extinction profile showed a small height gradient).The peak value of four times
quantum was higher in the morning and afternoon and lower in the evening and late at night, which was
0.3, 0.37, 0.4, 0.31/km, respectively. Extinction coefficient’s diurnal variety was influenced by
atmospheric environment and atmospheric boundary movement. Since atmospheric boundary was
increasing in height in the morning and reached the highest level in the afternoon, and was decreasing
decreased in the evening till late at night, upper boundary of aerosol layer also higher in the morning and
afternoon and lower in the evening and late at night. The vertical distribution of aerosol can be
parameterized in the climate model and aerosol model and used to determine the climatic and optical
effects of aerosol and to correct the remote satellite-sensing atmospheric profiles in the radiative transfer
model.

5. Discussion and Conclusions

The individual case analysis as well as the average aerosol distribution indicate that the aerosol
distribution can be summarized as three types: variation of aerosol with altitude shows a single peak
under stable atmospheric conditions; the vertical distribution of aerosol concentration does not change
significantly in the mixed layer. The distribution of aerosol extinction coefficient in unstable stratification
shows an exponential distribution. The vertical distribution of aerosol can be parameterized in the climate
model and aerosol model and used to determine the climatic and optical effects of aerosol and to correct
the remote satellite-sensing atmospheric profiles in the radiative transfer model.
Since the diurnal variation of the height of the atmospheric boundary layer shows a single peak
characterized as low in the morning, high at noon and decreasing in the afternoon, which is similar to that
of the top boundary of aerosol in the boundary layer, showing a single peak characterized as lower in the
morning, higher in the afternoon with peak between 12:00 and 17:00 and highest and lowest heights of
the top boundary of 3.5 km and 1.8 km, respectively.
The distribution of aerosol extinction coefficient is affected by the atmospheric environmental
conditions. Whether it be the outburst of a sandsorm, the period of floating sand or a sunny day, the
distributions of aerosol extinction coefficient under the altitude of 1 km are similar to that of atmospheric
humidity. In contrast, the distribution of aerosol extinction coefficient above altitude of 1 km shows an
opposite trend to that of the atmospheric humidity during non-sandstorm period and is not linearly
correlated to that of the atmospheric humidity during sandstorm period. The relationship between the
aerosol extinction coefficient and the atmospheric humidity indicates that water-soluble chemicals are
mixed with the aerosol in the lower layer; but no evidence suggests that they are present in the aerosol in
the layers above altitude of 1 km.

Acknowledgment

This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.
40805009 . the Science and Research Start-Up Project of Nanjing University of Information Science &
966 AuthorZhang
nameJie and Tang Environmental
/ Procedia Congguo / Procedia Environmental
Sciences Sciences
00 (2011) 11 (2011) 960 – 969
000–000

Technology under Grant No.2009 . This project was supported by SACOL stations (Lanzhou University
Semi-Arid Climate & Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University), OMI and NCEP database. The
author would like to thank Zhongwei Huang, Jianrong Bi and Beidou Zhang for their help for data
processing,Yao Dan for revising of writing.

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aerosol optical properties[J]. Atmospheric Environment,2006,40,2409-2421.
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Atmospheric Environment,2008,42,2603–2610.

10 2
8
6 1.8
4
2
0 1.6
10
8 1.4
6
Altitude(km)

4 1.2
2
0
1
10
8
6 0.8
4
2 0.6
0
10 0.4
8
6 0.2
4
2
0 0
0:00 8:00 16:00 24:00
Time(LST)

Figure 1 dust aerosol distribution during a typical sand storm case

968 AuthorZhang
name Jie and TangEnvironmental
/ Procedia Congguo / Procedia Environmental
Sciences Sciences
00 (2011) 000–00011 (2011) 960 – 969

5
4
(1)
3
2
1
0
5
4 (2)
3
2
altitude (km)

1
0
5
(3)
4
3
2
1
0
5
4
(4)
3
2
1
0
-0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5

extinction coefficient (/km)

Figure 2 vertical distribution shapes of aerosol extinction coefficient at SACOL, Gansu Province in China: (1) May 1,2008, (2)
May 2,2008 , (3) May 3, 2008 and (4) May 4, 2008，subfigure from left to right is the profile at late at night(0:00 to 4:00),
morning(8:00 to 12:00), afternoon(12:00 to 16:00) and evening(16:00 to 20:00), respectively, thick blue line is air molecule
extinction coefficient

10 2
8
Height(km)

6
1
4
2
0 0

10 100
8
Height(km)

6
50
4
2
0 0

10 305
8
Height(km)

6
260
4
2
0 215

10 20
8
Height(km)

6
10
4
2
0 0
0:00 4:00 8:00 12:00 16:00 20:00 24:00 0:00 4:00 8:00 12:00 16:00 20:00 24:00 0:00 4:00 8:00 12:00 16:00 20:00 24:00
Time(LST) Time(LST) Time(LST)

Figure 3. Extinction coefficient (first row), air relative humidity(the second row),air temperature(the third row)and liquid water
content(the fourth row) distribution, three lines is May 1,May 2 and May 3, representatively
 Zhang name
Author Jie and/ Procedia
Tang Congguo / Procedia Environmental
Environmental Sciences 00 Sciences 11 (2011) 960 – 969
(2011) 000–000 969

Rh(%)
0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100
5 5 5 5

4
( 4
( 4
( 4 (
3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

0 0 0 0
-0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5
extinction coefficient(/km)

Rh(%)
0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100
5 5 5 5

4 ( 4 ( 4 ( 4 (
3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

0
Al i d

0 0 0
-0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5
extinction coefficient(/km)

Rh(%)
0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100
5 5 5 5

4
( 4 ( 4 ( 4 (
3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

0 0 0 0
-0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5
extinction coefficient(/km)

Rh(%)
0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100 0 50 100
5 5 5 5

4
( 4 ( 4 ( 4
(
3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

0 0 0 0
-0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5
extinction coefficient(/km)

Figure 4 The relation between average relative atmospheric humidity and average extinction coefficient over SACOL station at
altitude below 5 km.(Dash line represents relative atmospheric humidity profile and solid line represent extinction coefficient profile.
Figures (a) to (d) represent the data of May 1, 2008 from 0:00-6:00, 6:00-12:00, 12:00-18:00 and 18:00-24:00, respectively. Figures
(e) to (h) represent the data of May 2, 2008 from 0:00-6:00, 6:00-12:00, 12:00-18:00 and 18:00-24:00, respectively. Figures (i) to (l)
represent the data of May 3, 2008 from 0:00-6:00, 6:00-12:00, 12:00-18:00 and 18:00-24:00, respectively. Figures (m) to (p)
represent the data of May 4, 2008 from 0:00-6:00, 6:00-12:00, 12:00-18:00 and 18:00-24:00, respectively)