Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 6 5 2006 10.5194/acpd-6-10649-2006 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/6/10649/2006/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/6/10649/2006/acpd-6-10649-2006.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/6/10649/2006/acpd-6-10649-2006.pdf 10649 10672 2006-10-19 Extinction coefficients retrieved in deep tropical ice clouds from lidar observations using a CALIPSO-like algorithm compared to in-situ measurements from the Cloud Integrated Nephelometer during CRYSTAL-FACE V. Noel D. M. Winker T. J. Garrett M. McGill Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Palaiseau, France NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, ML, USA This paper presents a comparison of lidar ratios and volume extinction coefficients in tropical ice clouds, retrieved using observations from two instruments: the 532-nm <I>Cloud Physics Lidar</I> (CPL), and the in-situ <I>Cloud Integrating Nephelometer</I> (CIN) probe. Both instruments were mounted on airborne platforms during the CRYSTAL-FACE campaign and took measurements up to 17&nbsp;km. Coincident observations from two cases of ice clouds located on top of deep convective systems are compared. First, lidar ratios are retrieved from CPL observations of attenuated backscatter, using a retrieval algorithm for opaque cloud similar to one used in the soon-to-be launched CALIPSO mission, and compared to results from the regular CPL algorithm. These lidar ratios are used to retrieve extinction coefficient profiles, which are compared to actual observations from the CIN in-situ probe, putting the emphasis on their vertical variability. When observations coincide, retrievals from both instruments are very similar. Differences are generally variations around the average profiles, and general trends on larger spatial scales are usually well reproduced. The two instruments agree well, with an average difference of less than 11% on optical depth retrievals. Results suggest the CALIPSO Deep Convection algorithm can be trusted to deliver realistic estimates of the lidar ratio, leading to good retrievals of extinction coefficients.