The Italian Lidar Ceilometer Network-ALICENET: Retrievals and long-term analyses of aerosol vertical profiles across Italy.

ALICENET is the Italian network of Automated Lidar-Ceilometers (ALCs) using remote sensing to monitor 24/7 aerosol vertical profiles and clouds (up to 15 km with a resolution of 15 m) across the country. It is a growing consortium network coordinated by CNR-ISAC, involving different institutions and contributing to the E-PROFILE EUMETNET program. The network, extending from the North to the South of Italy, covers a wide range of atmospheric and environmental conditions within the Mediterranean area. The ALC data processing is centralized at CNR-ISAC and allows inferring quantitative and vertically resolved information on aerosol properties ($e.g.$, aerosol extinction, mass, stratification). In this communication, a fully re-processed multi-year ALC dataset of five ALICENET stations (Aosta, in the Alps; Milan and San Pietro Capofiume, within the Po Valley; Rome, the main urban site in Central Italy; Messina, a maritime site in Sicily) is analyzed in synergy with $in situ$ meteorological and chemical measurements, model reanalyses and air mass trajectories. The results are presented focusing on the long-term characterisation of aerosol vertical profiles and main transport dynamics across Italy.