Marine-to-Inland Aerosol Vertical Structure over Taiwan during the 2024 ASIA-AQ and KPEx: Synergistic Observations from Ground-based MPL and NASA G-III Airborne HRSL-2

Aerosol vertical structure across marine-to-inland transition regions is influenced by the interaction of synoptic forcing, mesoscale circulation, and boundary-layer processes, yet remains insufficiently documented in subtropical island environments. During February–March 2024, coordinated airborne and ground-based remote sensing observations were conducted over southern Taiwan as part of the NASA ASIA-AQ/Kao–Ping Experiment (KPEx-2024), focusing on a compact coastal–inland transition affected by complex terrain and episodic continental outflow. This study examines the vertical structure of aerosols along the marine–coastal–inland pathway using synergistic ground-based Micro Pulse Lidar (MPL) and NASA G-III airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HRSL-2) observations, which provide complementary temporal continuity and three-dimensional spatial coverage. Two contrasting pollution episodes were selected to examine the vertical characteristics of aerosols under different dynamical conditions, including a locally influenced event under weak synoptic forcing and a long-range transport event associated with persistent northeasterly flow. The observations reveal notable differences in aerosol vertical distributions and layering between the two regimes, reflecting the combined influence of local accumulation processes and background-flow-driven transport. These results point to how synergistic multi-platform lidar observations can provide new insight into aerosol vertical structure and transport behavior across complex coastal transition regions.