Siberian environmental change: Synthesis of recent studies and opportunities for networking.

A recent multidisciplinary compilation of studies on changes in the Siberian environment details how climate is changing faster than most places on Earth with exceptional warming in the north and increased aridity in the south. Impacts of these changes are rapid permafrost thaw and melt of glaciers, increased flooding, extreme weather events leading to sudden changes in biodiversity, increased forest fires, more insect pest outbreaks, and increased emissions of CO and methane. These trends interact with sociological changes leading to land-use change, globalisation of diets, impaired health of Arctic Peoples, and challenges for transport.

Multimirror autodyne lidar for local detection of hostile gases.

We describe an autodyne lidar with multiple external mirrors by using an analytical approach presented previously [Appl. Opt. 41, 7087 (2002)].

Analytical estimation of the parameters of autodyne lidar.

An analytical approach for a calculation of the parameters of autodyne lidar is presented. Approximate expressions connecting the absorption coefficient and the distance to the remote target with both the lidar parameters and the measured quantities are obtained. These expressions allow one to retrieve easily the information about the atmosphere from the experimental data.

Parametric laser-reception lidar.

A theoretical analysis and design features of parametric CO(2) laser-reception lidar are reported. Stabilized regular laser radiation intensity oscillations are shown to occur under the laser-reception scheme of the return signal. Results are presented for low frequency cavity mirror oscillations and high instantaneous beat frequency.