Eye-safe compact Raman light detection and ranging temperature profiler.

The vertical profile of atmospheric temperature is a principal state variable to study atmospheric stability. A lidar system, constructed using a 355 nm Nd:YAG laser transmitter, measures the temperature profile using the rotational Raman technique. In comparison with traditional Raman lidar, the major innovations are the use of a low peak power and high repetition rate laser to achieve eye-safe operation in a compact reliable instrument and the use of an angle tuning filter to select operating wavelengths.

Performance modeling of an airborne Raman water-vapor lidar.

We have developed a sophisticated Raman lidar numerical model to simulate the performance of two ground-based Raman water-vapor lidar systems. After verifying the model using these ground-based measurements, we then used the model to simulate the water-vapor measurement capability of an airborne Raman lidar under both daytime and nighttime conditions for a wide range of water-vapor conditions. The results indicate that, under many circumstances, the daytime measurements possess comparable quality to an existing airborne differential absorption water-vapor lidar whereas the nighttime measurements have improved spatial and temporal resolution.

Remote detection of Raman scattering by use of a holographic optical element as a dispersive telescope.

We describe the retrieval of nighttime lidar profiles by use of a large holographic optical element to simultaneously collect and spectrally disperse Raman-shifted return signals. Results obtained with a 20-Hz, 6-mJ/pulse , frequency-tripled Nd:YAG source demonstrate profiles for atmospheric nitrogen with a range greater than 1 km for a time average of 26 s.

Observation of Raman scattering by cloud droplets in the atmosphere.

In a recent field campaign, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center scanning Raman lidar measured, in the water vapor channel, Raman scattering from low-level clouds well in excess of 100% relative humidity. The excess scattering has been interpreted to be spontaneous Raman scattering by liquid water in the cloud droplets. A review of research on Raman scattering by microspheres indicates that the technique may provide a remote method to observe cloud liquid water.

Gated photomultiplier response characterization for DIAL measurements.

The characteristics of various detector responses are studied to understand the cause of various systematic biases and to minimize these undesirable effects in measurements of transient signals with large dynamic range. We quantitatively evaluated signal induced bias, gain variation, and the linearity of commonly used gated photomultipliers in the current integrating mode. Analysis of the results indicates that impurity ions inside the photomultiplier tube are the source of the signal induced bias and gain variation.