Dietrich Althausen
Papers
20
Total Citations
2,600
H-Index
16
About
Dietrich Althausen is a leading atmospheric scientist whose research has profoundly shaped our understanding of aerosol properties and their remote sensing through advanced lidar techniques. Based at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) in Leipzig, Germany, Althausen has dedicated his career to developing and applying Raman lidar systems to characterize aerosols — particularly desert dust and biomass burning particles — across Europe, Africa, and Asia. His most celebrated contribution, a 2007 synthesis of Raman lidar observations spanning a decade (697 citations), established foundational statistics on aerosol-type-dependent lidar ratios and Ångström exponents that continue to guide atmospheric retrievals worldwide. His pivotal role in the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) produced landmark studies on vertically resolved dust-smoke separation over Cape Verde (558 citations) and Saharan dust profiling in Morocco (281 citations), transforming how scientists quantify mineral dust transport and its climatic effects. Althausen has also contributed to the EARLINET European lidar network and the POLIPHON method, enabling retrieval of cloud condensation nuclei and ice-nucleating particle profiles from polarization lidar. His work — with cumulative citations exceeding 2,300 — represents an enduring legacy in aerosol remote sensing that continues to inform climate modeling and air quality science.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Aerosol‐type‐dependent lidar ratios observed with Raman lidar697 citations · 2007
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