Abstract

Distortions of particular extinction-coefficient profiles measured with lidar in a two-component (molecular and aerosol) scattering atmosphere are analyzed. The error of the extinction coefficient measured at range r depends on the location of the point r _b, where a boundary value is specified, and the particulate optical depth of the atmosphere between r and r _b; the particulate backscatter-to-extinction ratio; and the ratio of particulate and molecular scattering extinction. If the near-end solution is used, small measurement errors can produce a significant divergence between the actual and the retrieved extinction-coefficient profiles, even if the boundary value and the particulate backscatter-to-extinction ratio are specified accurately. This effect is exacerbated at small values of the particulate scattering coefficient and the backscatter-to-extinction ratio. When reasonable criteria are used, feasible minimum and maximum boundary values can be specified to restrict the range of lidar equation solutions from below and from above.

© 1994 Optical Society of America

Sensitivity of the lidar solution to errors of the aerosol backscatter-to-extinction ratio: influence of a monotonic change in the aerosol extinction coefficient

Vladimir A. Kovalev
Appl. Opt. 34(18) 3457-3462 (1995)

Lidar measurement of the vertical aerosol extinction profiles with range-dependent backscatter-to-extinction ratios

Vladimir A. Kovalev
Appl. Opt. 32(30) 6053-6065 (1993)

Distortions of the extinction coefficient profile caused by systematic errors in lidar data

Vladimir A. Kovalev
Appl. Opt. 43(15) 3191-3198 (2004)

Two-wavelength lidar inversion algorithm for a two-component atmosphere with variable extinction-to-backscatter ratios

Jörg Ackermann
Appl. Opt. 37(15) 3164-3171 (1998)

Two-wavelength lidar inversion algorithm for a two-component atmosphere

Jörg Ackermann
Appl. Opt. 36(21) 5134-5143 (1997)