Remote Sensing        INOE

The European Aerosol Research Lidar Network EARLINET is the first network of advanced lidar stations which provides a quantitative climatological database of the horizontal, vertical, and temporal distribution of aerosols over Europe. Lidars are powerful tools for providing quantitative measurements of the optical properties of aerosols with high spatial and temporal resolution and with a high level of accuracy.

The objectives of EARLINET is reached by operating a network of presently 15 stations distributed over most of Europe, using advanced quantitative laser remote sensing to directly measure the vertical distribution of aerosols, supported by a suite of more conventional observations. Special care is taken to assure data quality, including intercomparisons at instrument and evaluation levels. A major part of the measurements is performed according to a fixed schedule to provide an unbiased statistically significant data set. Additional measurements are performed to specifically address important processes that are localised either in space or time. Back-trajectories derived from operational weather prediction models are used to characterise the history of the observed air parcels, accounting explicitly for the vertical distribution.

Bucharest lidar station is part of EARLINET since Nov. 2005 (P.I. Dr. Doina Nicolae), providing data three times per week and during alerts, conform to the protocol, and participating to all important associated events, campaigns and projects.