Ground Based Remote Sensing Station for the Vertical Profiling of Atmospheric Aerosol Types and Concentrations. 

The general function of the Cimel AAMS Solution is to perform remote sensing measurements & to display in real time vertically resolved information on aerosol types and concentrations. Information generated by several automatic aerosol monitoring stations will complement in-situ measurements at surface level and 2D maps generated by satellite borne earth observation systems. Improved information will benefit the organisations in charge of air quality in their tasks:

• to better monitor, understand, model and forecast aerosols of various origins like local emissions (urban, industrial), regional background (pollution, marine salt, dust) and intrusion of plumes from distant sources (natural or agricultural biomass fires, volcanic ashes, sand storms…).

• to inform & advise authorities on public measures to be taken to preserve human health & traffic safety as well as to mitigate economic impacts.

The measurement system includes both active and passive remote sensing sensors:

• Active LiDAR, up to 4 reception channels (backscatter & depolarisation at 2 wavelengths)

• Passive Photometer of sun, sky and moon at 9 spectral channels (exclusive NASA supplier)

The monitoring Software IAAMS combines information from both instruments & provide a user-friendly interface to present the various types of vertical profiling information.