Development of a high-spectral-resolution lidar for continuous observation of aerosols in South America

YOSHITAKA JIN; NOBUO SUGIMOTO; TOMOAKI NISHIZAWA; PABLO ROBERTO RISTORI; SEBASTÍAN PAPANDREA; LIDIA ANA OTERO; EDUARDO QUEL; AKIRA MIZUNO

SPIE

Upendra N. Singh, Nobuo Sugimoto, Achuthan Jayaraman, Mullapudi V. R. Seshasai

Año: 2016 vol. 9879

0277-786X

Continuousmonitoring of aerosol profiles using lidar is helpful for a quasi-real-timeindication of aerosol concentration. For instance, volcanic ash concentrationand its height distribution are essential information for plane flights. Depolarizationratio and multi-wavelength measurements are useful for characterizing aerosoltypes such as volcanic ash, smoke, dust, sea-salt, and air pollution aerosols.High spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) and Raman scattering lidar can contributeto such aerosol characterization significantly since extinction coefficientscan be measured independently from backscattering coefficients. In particular,HSRL can measure aerosol extinction during daytime and nighttime with a highsensitivity. We developed an HSRL with the iodine filter method for continuousobservation of aerosols at 532nm in the northern region of Argentina in theframework of the South American Environmental Atmospheric Risk ManagementNetwork (SAVER.Net)/SATREPS project. The laser wavelength of the HSRL wascontrolled by a feedback system to tune the laser wavelength to the center ofan iodine absorption line. The stability of the laser wavelength with thesystem satisfied the requirement showing very small systematic errors in theretrieval of extinction and backscatter.