STRAT: An automated algorithm to retrieve the vertical structure of the atmosphere from single-channel lidar data

Today several lidar networks around the world provide large datasets that are extremely valuable for aerosol and cloud research. Retrieval of atmospheric constituent properties from lidar profiles requires detailed analysis of spatial and temporal variations of the signal. This paper presents an algorithm called Structure of the Atmosphere (STRAT), which is designed to retrieve the vertical distribution of cloud and aerosol layers in the boundary layer and through the free troposphere and to identify near-particle-free regions of the vertical profile and the range at which the lidar signal becomes too attenuated for exploitation, from a single lidar channel. The paper describes each detection method used in the STRAT algorithm and its application to a tropospheric backscatter lidar operated at the SIRTA observatory, in Palaiseau, 20 km south of Paris, France. STRAT retrievals are compared to other means of layer detection and classification; retrieval performances and uncertainties are discussed.