For decades, satellites have been monitoring the atmosphere to support research on the global climate, weather, and environment. However, strong demand still exists for ground-based observations of the whole atmosphere. An NSFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China) funded research facility named the “Atmospheric Profiling Synthetic Observation System” (APSOS), aimed at deepening our understanding on the interactions within the whole (neutral) atmosphere layers, was built at the Yangbajain (YBJ) International Cosmic Ray Observatory in Tibet, China, in late 2017 and is now in full operation.  

The key instruments of APSOS are five lidars (i.e., laser radars), a cloud radar, a terahertz radiometer, and a telescope assembly of four Φ1200 mm mirrors. It can provide range-resolved profiles of temperature, wind, water vapor, aerosol, cloud, ozone, NO₂, SO₂, and CO₂. In addition, there is a data management and validation platform for data retrieval, comparison, and validation.

 APSOS is the world’s first ground-based facility for profiling atmospheric variables and multiple constituents in the whole (neutral) atmosphere, covering the altitudes of the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and the lower thermosphere, according to APSOS team member Dr. PAN Weilin, a researcher with the Institute of Atmosphere Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. In a recently published article in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, reviewing the recent progress of APSOS, Pan describes how APSOS will be making long-term measurements and establishing the first whole-atmosphere measurement database over the Tibetan Plateau.

"International collaborations are strongly encouraged,” PAN says.

The world-class ground-based atmospheric research facility, APSOS, illustrated on the cover of Issue 3 of Advances in Atmospheric Sciences in 2018. Three green laser beams at the wavelength of 532 nm pointing into the night sky in zenith, eastward, and southward directions for measuring the range-resolved profiles of atmospheric temperature, wind, aerosol, and cloud. The cover art is reproduced from a photo taken by Dr. CHENG Xuewu at YBJ International Cosmic Ray Observatory in Tibet, on 10 October 2017 (UTC+8).

Citation: Lu, D. R., W. L. Pan, and Y. N. Wang, 2018: Atmospheric Profiling Synthetic Observation System in Tibet. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 35(3), https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-017-7251-7. 

Media Contact: LIN Zheng, jennylin@mail.iap.ac