Abstract

Abstract This work describes the algorithms used for the fully automated retrieval of profiles of particulate extinction coefficients from the attenuated backscatter data acquired by the lidar on board the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) spacecraft. The close interaction of the Hybrid Extinction Retrieval Algorithms (HERA) with the preceding processes that detect and classify atmospheric features (i.e., cloud and aerosol layers) is described within the context of the analysis of measurements from scenes of varying complexity. Two main components compose HERA: a top-level algorithm that selects the analysis pathway, the order of processing, and the analysis parameters, depending on the nature and spatial extent of the atmospheric features to be processed; and a profile solver or “extinction engine,” whose task it is to retrieve profiles of particulate extinction and backscatter coefficients from specified sections of an atmospheric scene defined by the top-level algorithm. The operation of these components is described using synthetic data derived from Lidar In Space Technology Experiment (LITE) measurements. The performance of the algorithms is illustrated using CALIPSO measurements acquired during the mission on 1 January 2007.