Automated time-height-resolved airmass source attribution for profiling remote sensing applications

Abstract. Height resolved airmass source attribution is crucial for the evaluation of profiling ground-based remote sensing observations. This work presents an approach how backward trajectories or particle positions from a dispersion model can be combined with geographical information (a land cover classification and manually defined areas) to obtain a continuous and vertically resolved estimate of airmass source above a certain location. Ideally, such an estimate depends on as few as possible a-priori information and auxiliary data. An automated framework for the computation of such an airmass source is presented and two exemplary applications are described. Firstly, the airmass source information is used for the interpretation of airmass sources for three case studies with lidar observations from Limassol (Cyprus), Punta Arenas (Chile) and ship-borne off Cabo Verde. Secondly, airmass source statistics are calculated for two 8-week campaigns to assess potential observation biases of lidar-based aerosol statistics.