Abstract

Atmospheric aerosols, although only a minor constituent of the earth’s atmosphere, play an important role in many atmospheric processes. They have appreciable influence on the earth’s radiation budget, air quality, clouds and precipitation as well as the chemistry of the troposphere and stratosphere. One of the key aspects in a further understanding of the importance of aerosols is the investigation of the spatial and temporal variability of the particles’ microphysical properties, such as parameters describing their mean size, mass and surface-area concentrations. A data-evaluation algorithm that uses the method of inversion via regularization is currently being developed to retrieve microphysical parameters from optical data. Hereby, the main focus will be the information on mean values of the particle size distribution. The optical information will be provided by two lidar systems, a multiple wavelength lidar and a Raman lidar. Altogether, these systems will give six backscatter coefficients and two extinction coefficients in the wavelength range from 0.355 to 1.064 μm. Additional information will come from depolarization and water vapor measurements at 0.532 μm.

© 1997 Optical Society of America