Annual cycle of aerosol backscatter coefficient and aerosol mixed layer height above Neuchâtel (Switzerland, 47.00°N, 6.95°E)

Due to the complexity of the direct and indirect effects of the atmospheric aerosols on the air quality and atmospheric radiation balance, complementary methods are necessary to assess the aerosol optical properties. In this sense the backscatter lidar methods are critical in aerosol vertical distribution study. This work presents the annual cycle of aerosol backscatter coefficient (ABC) and aerosol mixed layer (AML) height over Neuchâtel, Switzerland (47.00 N; 6.950 E, 485 m asl). The study is performed by a ground based backscatter lidar operating at 532 nm wavelength as part of EARLINET program of EU. Atmospheric layering for this study is based on a classification of lower atmosphere from 1 km to 2 km above sea level (asl) and from 2 km to 5 km asl, respectively