Relationship between Lidar-derived Dust Extinction Coefficients and Mass Concentrations in Japan

Dust extinction coefficients near the ground surface, based on National Institute for Environmental Studies lidar network measurements, were directly compared with mass densities measured simultaneously by filter sampling during several heavy dust events in Japan. The ratio between them varied from 0.5 to 2 g m(-1), and depended more on the observatory, than on the dust event being observed. This variation could not be accounted for by the change in particle size distribution during long-distance transport from the source region to Japan, but internal mixing of dust with spherical particles might explain the observed results.