Mission
![]() |
The Atmospheric Optics Group of Valladolid University (GOA-UVa) is involved in the study of atmospheric components, mainly aerosols, with optical methods. The GOA calibration facility is devoted to radiometric calibration of optical instrumentations such as photometers, and it is part of the AERONET-Europe Central Facility, partially funded by the European Union. As a university group, our researchers carry out educational and training activity (graduate, master and PhD thesis). In this site you can find information about the work of the group, members, research lines, publications, projects, vacancies, etc. |
Latests 5 Publications
2023
Javier Montero-Martín; Manuel Antón; José Manuel Vaquero; Roberto Román; Javier Vaquero-Martinez; Alejandro J. P. Aparicio; Arturo Sanchez-Lorenzo
Reconstruction of daily global solar radiation under all-sky and cloud-free conditions in Badajoz (Spain) since 1929 Journal Article
In: International Journal of Climatology, vol. n/a, no. n/a, 2023.
@article{Montero-Martín2023,
title = {Reconstruction of daily global solar radiation under all-sky and cloud-free conditions in Badajoz (Spain) since 1929},
author = {Javier Montero-Martín and Manuel Antón and José Manuel Vaquero and Roberto Román and Javier Vaquero-Martinez and Alejandro J. P. Aparicio and Arturo Sanchez-Lorenzo},
url = {https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/joc.8042},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.8042},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-02-16},
journal = {International Journal of Climatology},
volume = {n/a},
number = {n/a},
abstract = {Abstract This work analyses the long-term temporal variability of the annual and seasonal series of reconstructed global solar radiation for both all-sky and cloud-free conditions in Badajoz (Spain) over the 1929–2015 period. Specifically, daily values of global horizontal irradiation (GHI) for all-sky cases are derived from a semiempirical method based on the relationship between the cloud modification factor and sunshine duration records. Additionally, cloud-free situations are selected using cloud cover (CC) information recorded by surface observations. Regarding GHI linear trends for all-sky conditions, three periods are clearly identified: during the 1929–1950 period, there is a positive and statistically significant trend of +4.18?W·m?2·decade?1. It is followed by a significant dimming with a trend of ?3.72?W·m?2·decade?1 between 1951 and 1984. GHI levels increase again from 1985 to 2015 with a statistically significant trend of +2.04?W·m?2·decade?1. The seasonal trends are found to be statistically significant only in summer for all the three subperiods. With the goal to find out the possible causes of the reconstructed GHI trends, the temporal variability of the CC was also analysed. It was observed that CC has a statistically significant negative trend between 1985 and 2015 which may partially explain the GHI increase shown for this period. In contrast, not statistically significant trends were found in the annual and seasonal CC series before 1985. The long-term evolution of the GHI under cloud-free conditions exhibits the same pattern as all-sky conditions: an increase during 1929–1950, followed by a decrease in 1951–1984 and then a new increase from 1985 to 2015. Therefore, the positive (negative) linear trends in GHI reported in this study could be partially related to a decrease (increase) in the aerosol load during the analysed three subperiods.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Elena Bazo; María J. Granados-Muñoz; Roberto Román; Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda; Alberto Cazorla; Antonio Valenzuela; Ramiro González; Francisco José Olmo; Lucas Alados-Arboledas
In: Atmospheric Research, vol. 282, pp. 106517, 2023, ISSN: 0169-8095.
@article{Bazo2023,
title = {Evaluation of the vertically-resolved aerosol radiative effect on shortwave and longwave ranges using sun-sky photometer and ceilometer measurements},
author = {Elena Bazo and María J. Granados-Muñoz and Roberto Román and Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda and Alberto Cazorla and Antonio Valenzuela and Ramiro González and Francisco José Olmo and Lucas Alados-Arboledas},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169809522005038},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2022.106517},
issn = {0169-8095},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
journal = {Atmospheric Research},
volume = {282},
pages = {106517},
abstract = {The aerosol radiative effect (ARE) is one of the atmospheric components still affected by large uncertainty. One of the causes is related to the fact that the longwave (LW) component is usually neglected, even though it is necessary for an accurate quantification of the ARE together with the shortwave component (SW). In this study we have developed a methodology based on the GAME (Global Atmospheric Model) radiative transfer model (RTM) that allows to obtain the radiative effect of the atmospheric aerosol for both spectral ranges in an automated way. The microphysical and optical properties necessary to feed the RTM have been obtained through the GRASP (Generalized Retrieval of Aerosol and Surface Properties) algorithm, with the combination of ceilometer and sun-sky photometer data. Data measured in Granada (Spain) during 2017 have been used for the evaluation and implementation of this methodology. According to the results, the ARE in the SW spectral range (ARESW) varies between 0 and ? 50 Wm?2 for most of the data, whereas the ARE in the LW range (ARELW) varies between 0 and 5 Wm?2, at heights near the surface. In general, the obtained results agree with those found in the literature, with negative values in the SW range (cooling effect) and positive values in the LW (heating effect). The seasonal analysis shows that, for both components, the ARE is more important during the spring and summer seasons, when the aerosol load is greater, as expected. The analysis of the aerosol heating rate (AHR) shows positive values in the SW and negative values in the LW range. The majority of the AHRSW data varies between 0 and 1 Kd?1 during the year whereas the AHRLW does it between 0 and ? 0.15 Kd?1. The seasonal analysis of the AHR shows that the greater monthly average values are found during spring, however there is not much variability along the year, with the exception of February, under the effects of an extreme dust intrusion. The mineral dust particles in this event cause an ARESW of ?130 Wm?2 and an ARELW of 23 Wm?2 (ARELW/ARESW = 17%), thus pointing out that the LW component should not be neglected for coarse mode particles. Additionally, it is observed that the vertical distribution of the aerosol layers strongly influences the ARE and the AHR obtained profiles, affecting the way the atmospheric cooling/heating occurs in the vertical coordinate.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Barja, B.; Rosas, J.; Cachorro, V. E.; Toledano, C.; Antuña-Marrero, J. C.; Estevan, R.; de Frutos, A.
Surface shortwave cloud radiative effect of cumulus and stratocumulus-cumulus cloud types in the Caribbean area (Camagüey Cuba, 2010-2016) Journal Article
In: 36, vol. (1), pp. 41–56, 2023.
@article{Barja2023,
title = {Surface shortwave cloud radiative effect of cumulus and stratocumulus-cumulus cloud types in the Caribbean area (Camagüey Cuba, 2010-2016)},
author = {Barja, B. and Rosas, J. and Cachorro, V. E. and Toledano, C. and Antuña-Marrero, J. C. and Estevan, R. and de Frutos, A.},
editor = {Atmósfera},
doi = {10.20937/ATM.52858},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
journal = {36},
volume = {(1)},
pages = {41–56},
abstract = {The effects of cumulus (Cu) clouds and the combination of stratocumulus-cumulus (Sc-Cu) clouds on solar radiation at the Earth’s surface were evaluated at Camagüey, Cuba, during a 6-yr period (from June 2010 to May 2016). Two methods to calculate the cloud radiative effect (CRE) were employed. The first method (CREm) uses solar irradiances in cloudy conditions from actinometric observations, where cloud information was also reported by visual observation. In the second method (CRE0) surface solar irradiances were estimated for both cloudy and clear sky conditions using a 1-D radiative transfer model, and cloud optical depth (COD) retrieved from an AERONET sun-photometer as the main input. A temporal correspondence criterion between COD retrievals and actinometric observations was performed in order to classify the COD of each cloud type. After the application of this criterion, the COD belonging to the optically thin clouds was removed. Finally, 255 and 732 COD observations for Cu and Sc-Cu, respectively, were found. Results show a statistically significant difference at the 95% confidence level between CRE calculated for Sc-Cu and Cu, using both methods. Mean values of CREm and CRE0 for Cu (Sc-Cu) were ?442 (?390) and ?460 (?417) Wm–2, respectively. CRE0 shows a linear relation with ln(COD), with stronger correlation at a lower solar zenith angle. The shortwave cloud effect efficiency (CEE) for the two cloud types sharply decreases with the increase of the COD value up to 20. For larger COD, the CEE is less sensitive to the increase of COD.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2022
D. Cappelletti; C. Petroselli; D. Mateos; M. Herreras; L. Ferrero; N. Losi; A. Gregori; C. Frangipani; G. La Porta; M. Lonardi; D. G. Chernov; A. Dekhtyareva
Vertical profiles of black carbon and nanoparticles pollutants measured by a tethered balloon in Longyearbyen (Svalbard islands) Journal Article
In: Atmospheric Environment, vol. 290, pp. 119373, 2022, ISSN: 1352-2310.
@article{CAPPELLETTI2022119373,
title = {Vertical profiles of black carbon and nanoparticles pollutants measured by a tethered balloon in Longyearbyen (Svalbard islands)},
author = {D. Cappelletti and C. Petroselli and D. Mateos and M. Herreras and L. Ferrero and N. Losi and A. Gregori and C. Frangipani and G. La Porta and M. Lonardi and D. G. Chernov and A. Dekhtyareva},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231022004381},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119373},
issn = {1352-2310},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-09-09},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Atmospheric Environment},
volume = {290},
pages = {119373},
abstract = {Airborne meteorological and aerosol measurements have been performed in Longyearbyen (Svalbard islands) in the summer of 2018, coupling an instrumental aerosol payload with a meteorological radiosonde deployed on a tethered balloon. More than 70 vertical profiles of aerosol and meteorological properties have been recorded up to a maximum altitude of 1.2 km. As a main result, the present work provides a homogeneous gridded dataset of vertical profiles of equivalent black carbon (eBC) and nanoparticles (NP) concentrations and associated meteorological data (temperature, T, relative humidity, RH, pressure, P) to be employed for future modelling studies of Arctic pollution. Mean values (±SD) of eBC and NP below 500 m were 110 ± 10 ng m?3 and 1400 ± 400 particles cm?3, respectively. Mean values above 500 m were 150 ± 30 ng m?3 and 1000 ± 350 particles cm?3, respectively. Group medians of maximum eBC and NP concentrations in vertical profiles with temperature inversions were significantly higher than for those without inversion. The dataset has been complemented by continuous ground measurements of eBC with an average value of 208 ± 130 ng m?3 (median value 110 ± 70 ng m?3) for the entire campaign; the ground-based background (absence of local emission) eBC value was below 100 ng m?3 while maximum values were in the 1000–2000 ng m?3 range. Median eBC concentration measured at ground for 2 h before the tethered balloon launch was higher when temperature inversion was observed. The ground-based measurements, coupled with aerosol optical depth measurements, allowed for a preliminary discussion of two case studies related to high pollutants concentration events.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Javier Vaquero-Martínez; André F. Bagorrilha; Manuel Antón; Juan C. Antuña-Marrero; Victoria E. Cachorro
Comparison of CIMEL sun-photometer and ground-based GNSS integrated water vapor over south-western European sites Journal Article
In: Atmospheric Research, vol. 275, pp. 106217, 2022, ISSN: 0169-8095.
@article{Vaquero-Martínez2022,
title = {Comparison of CIMEL sun-photometer and ground-based GNSS integrated water vapor over south-western European sites},
author = {Javier Vaquero-Martínez and André F. Bagorrilha and Manuel Antón and Juan C. Antuña-Marrero and Victoria E. Cachorro},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169809522002034},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2022.106217},
issn = {0169-8095},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-09-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Atmospheric Research},
volume = {275},
pages = {106217},
abstract = {This work analyzes the integrated water vapor (IWV) measured at six Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) stations with nearby global navigation satellite system (GNSS) in the Iberian Peninsula for the period 2007–2018. It is shown that both instruments have a high correlation (R2 > 0.91), with small mbe below 1.5 mm and standard deviation (SD) below 2 mm. However, some dependences have been observed when MBE and SD are represented in bins of three variables: IWV, solar zenith angle (SZA), and aerosol optical depth (AOD). The greater or lesser amount of water vapor in the atmosphere seemed to be the more influential variable, increasing dry bias and SD with increasing IWV. Moreover, high SZA values were related to SD increases. A clear seasonal cycle for Cimel–GNSS differences was observed which was mainly related to IWV seasonal cycle. Additionally, AOD did not show a remarkable influence on Cimel–GNSS differences. Finally, the monthly differences are also analyzed with metadata information about Cimel device ID numbers, showing that, for long-term studies, this information can be very valuable.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}