Demonstration Measurements of Water Vapor, Cirrus Clouds, and Carbon Dioxide Using a High-Performance Raman Lidar

Abstract

Profile measurements of atmospheric water vapor, cirrus clouds, and carbon dioxide using the Raman Airborne Spectroscopic lidar (RASL) during ground-based, upward-looking tests are presented here. These measurements improve upon any previously demonstrated using Raman lidar. Daytime boundary layer profiling of water vapor mixing ratio up to an altitude of approximately 4 km under moist, midsummer conditions is performed with less than 5% random error using temporal and spatial resolution of 2 min and 60?210 m, respectively. Daytime cirrus cloud optical depth and extinction-to-backscatter ratio measurements are made using a 1-min average. The potential to simultaneously profile carbon dioxide and water vapor mixing ratio through the boundary layer and extending into the free troposphere during the nighttime is also demonstrated.