LIDAR-measurements of cirrus clouds in the northern and southern midlatitudes during the INCA-campagne.
AWI's MARL-instrument is a mobile backscatter lidar that is used at various locations as well as aboard the research vessel Polarstern to measure Aerosol and clouds in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. In 2000 two field-experiments have been conducted within the European INCA 2000-project (Interhemispheric differences in cirrus cloud properties by anthropogenic emissions). The first one took place in the southern hemispheric midlatitudes, in Punta Arenas/Chile (53.12°S, 70.88°W) and the second campaign followed in September 2000 in Prestwick /Scotland (55.51°N, 4.60°W). The main objective of these activities was to collect Lidar data on cirrus clouds from clean (Punta Arenas) and polluted (Prestwick) areas. During the four weeks of the campaigns, around 80 h of Lidar measurements were gathered at each location, covering different types of cirrus clouds as well as background aerosols. A comparison of the two datasets reveal similarities as well as differences in the measured cirrus cloud properties.