Abstract

Knowledge of the physical and optical properties of atmospheric aerosols is required to determine the impact aerosols will have on radiative transfer, heterogeneous chemistry, and cloud dynamics. Since the composition and size of atmospheric aerosols are functions of the atmospheric water vapor, aerosols must be studied in their natural state in order to fully understand how they are affected by various meteorological conditions and how they in turn will affect the processes listed above. By measuring high resolution profiles of aerosol extinction and backscattering as well as simultaneous profiles of atmospheric water vapor, Raman lidar can provide information regarding aerosol microphysical characteristics [Ansmann, et al., 1992; Ferrare et al.,1992]. In addition, the aerosol extinction/backscatter ratio measured directly by Raman lidar can be used in the estimation of aerosol extinction and optical thickness in the inversion procedures used by simpler backscatter lidars. In this presentation, we discuss measurements of aerosol extinction, backscattering, extinction/backscatter ratio, water vapor mixing ratio, and relative humidity made by a scanning Raman lidar over Wallops Island, Virginia (37.95 N, 75.47 W) during August, 1992.

© 1993 Optical Society of America