Motivation
BC profiles are globally scarce compared to ground-level data. Thus, there is a clear need to improve the knowledge about aerosol vertical profiles. This is true, especially over mountainous regions.
Detailed vertical profiles of aerosol parameters are needed to quantify the effects of aerosols on radiative forcing and clouds and how these, in turn, influence climate and the hydrological cycle. Since recent studies have demonstrated the inability to compute these profiles from surface aerosol measurements alone, vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties must be acquired to compute aerosol and cloud radiative effects throughout the entire atmospheric column. The location of aerosols within the vertical column, such as above or below the clouds, can significantly affect the sign of the forcing.
BC profiles are globally scarce compared to ground-level data. Thus, there is a clear need to improve the knowledge about aerosol vertical profiles. This is true, especially over mountainous regions.