Dual-field-of-view Raman lidar measurements for the retrieval of cloud microphysical properties.

Dual-field-of-view Raman lidar measurements, detecting Raman-scattered light with two fields of view simultaneously, are used for the first time to retrieve cloud microphysical properties. The measurements are performed with the Multiwavelength Atmospheric Raman Lidar for Temperature, Humidity, and Aerosol Profiling (MARTHA) at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research in Leipzig, Germany. Light that is scattered in forward direction by cloud droplets and inelastically backscattered by N2 molecules is detected.

RAMSES: German Meteorological Service autonomous Raman lidar for water vapor, temperature, aerosol, and cloud measurements.

The Raman lidar for atmospheric moisture sensing (RAMSES) for unattended, continuous multiparameter atmospheric profiling is presented. A seeded frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser serves as the light source. A nine-channel polychromator, nonfiber coupled to the main telescope (790 mm diameter), is used for far-range measurements.

Comprehensive particle characterization from three-wavelength Raman-lidar observations: case study.

The potential of three-wavelength Raman-lidar observations for a detailed optical and physical characterization of atmospheric particles is exemplified through a case study of measurements from 9 August 1998 of the Lindenberg Aerosol Characterization Experiment. Backscatter coefficients at 355, 532, and 1064 nm and extinction coefficients at 355 and 532 nm allow one to estimate the vertical profiles of the volume concentration distribution and the complex refractive index with an inversion scheme. Subsequently the single-scattering albedo is calculated.

Microphysical particle parameters from extinction and backscatter lidar data by inversion with regularization: experiment.

We present effective radius, volume, surface-area, and number concentrations as well as mean complex refractive index of tropospheric particle size distributions based on lidar measurements at six wavelengths. The parameters are derived by means of an inversion algorithm that has been specifically designed for the inversion of available optical data sets. The data were taken on 20 June and on 20 July 1997 during the Aerosol Characterization Experiment ACE 2 (North Atlantic/Portugal) and on 9 August 1998 during the Lindenberg Aerosol Characterization Experiment LACE 98 (Lindenberg/Germany).

Microphysical particle parameters from extinction and backscatter lidar data by inversion with regularization: simulation.

A sensitivity study with an inversion scheme that permits one to retrieve physical parameters of tropospheric particle size distributions, e.g., effective radius, volume, surface-area, and number concentrations, as well as the mean complex refractive index from backscatter and extinction coefficients at multiple wavelengths is presented.