Evolution of a lidar network for tropospheric aerosol detection in East Asia

A regional elastic-scattering lidar network called Asian dust and aerosol lidar observation network (AD-Net) has operated for 15 years (since 2001) in East Asia. In this network, the extinction coefficient of aerosols below an altitude of 9 km is continuously obtained when conditions are clear; the coefficient is divided into two parts: dust extinction and spherical extinction coefficients. The dust extinction coefficient has been compared with several parameters measured by other instruments and utilized by various studies, including studies on the epidemiology of Asian dust. Recent expansion of the lidar system at some observatories allows more optical parameters to be retrieved at those observatories. All AD-Net products are used for monitoring global environmental change as an activity of global atmospheric watch lidar observation network.