Comment on amt-2022-106

The eye-safe lower-tropospheric temperature profiler with three wavelength differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique which can perform the continuous temperature profile observation through daytime and nighttime is conducted. The DIAL consists of a Nd:YAG laser pumped an OPG tuned around 1573 nm of an CO2 absorption line with 2 mJ/pulse at 400 Hz repetition rate and a receiving telescope of 25cm diameter. In this paper, we show the result of continuous temperature profile observations over 25 hours from 0.39 to 2.5 km altitude in the lower-troposphere. We can see temporally the generation and disappearance of the temperature inversion layers in the planetary boundary layer.

During the past thirty years, ozone has become one of the `hot properties' of the atmosphere. It is one of the two minor atmospheric constituents of which the general public is aware. It is the only one for which politicians of almost all persuasions, in almost all countries, have agreed that `something must be done'.

The 2-micron wavelength region is suitable for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements due to the existence of distinct absorption features for the gas at this wavelength region [1]. For more than 20 years, researchers at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) have developed several high-energy and high repetition rate 2-micron pulsed lasers [2]. Currently, LaRC team is engaged in designing, developing and demonstrating a triple-pulsed 2-micron direct detection Integrated Path Differential Absorption (IPDA) lidar to measure the weighted-average column dry-air mixing ratios of carbon dioxide (XCO2) and water vapor (XH2O) from an airborne platform [1, 3-5]. This novel technique allows measurement of the two most dominant greenhouse gases, simultaneously and independently, using a single instrument. This paper will provide status and details of the development of this airborne 2-micron triple-pulse IPDA lidar. The presented work will focus on the advancement of critical IPDA lidar components. Updates on the state-of-the-art triple-pulse laser transmitter will be presented including the status of seed laser locking, wavelength control, receiver and detector upgrades, laser packaging and lidar integration. Future plans for IPDA lidar ground integration, testing and flight validation will also be discussed. This work enables new Earth observation measurements, while reducing risk, cost, size, volume, mass and development time of required instruments.

Differential absorption lidar and Raman lidar have been applied to the range-resolved measurements of water vapor density for more than 20 years. During this period, there have been considerable advances in laser and lidar technology, as well as in the understanding of the factors required to optimize both lidar techniques for water vapor measurements. Results have been obtained using both lidar techniques that have led to improved understanding of water vapor distributions in the atmosphere. This paper reviews the theory of the measurements, including the sources of systematic and random error; the progress in lidar technology and techniques during that period, including a brief look at some of the lidar systems in development or proposed; and the steps being taken to improve such lidar systems.

Measurements of pollutants and water vapor in the troposphere using the differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique are described. Measurements are made of sulfur dioxide in power plant plumes with a mobile DIAL system operated near 300 nm. Comparisons of sulfur dioxide concentrations determined with the DIAL system and in-stack monitors are found to be in agreement to within 18%. Vertical water vapor profiles with a ground-based lidar system are measured using the water vapor absorption line at 724.3 nm. Rawinsonde and DIAL water vapor profile data are shown to agree within 10% to an altitude of 2.5 km. Simulations are discussed for airborne DIAL measurements of sulfur dioxide, water vapor, and nitrogen dioxide.

The Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) technique is one of the most effective methods for detecting atmospheric gases. It is based on the interaction between laser-emitted light and atmospheric molecules. The backscattered optical signal is converted into an electrical signal using photomultiplier tubes or other types of detectors. Two main detection approaches are commonly used: analog detection and photon-counting detection. While the analog mode is widely employed, it suffers from limited sensitivity. The photon-counting mode, although more suitable for detecting extremely weak signals, faces challenges in daytime measurements due to strong solar background noise. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of the photon-counting technique to enable the DIAL system to detect extremely weak optical signals. To this end, modeling and simulation of the parameters influencing system performance have been carried out. Furthermore, the impact of using ultra-narrow band filter (UNBF) has been investigated and compared to that of conventional interference filter, with the aim of reducing background noise in daytime measurements and improving the transmission of the useful signal. The results show that the photon counting acquisition technique for a DIAL system or P-DIAL (Photon-counting DIAL) provides superior performance in terms of signal quality and measurement accuracy compared to analogue detection using an UNBF for noise limitation.

Understanding the atmospheric phenomena of the offshore wind sites helps inform the potential risks from wake propagation, an issue becoming more prominent as wind farms grow larger and more densely concentrated. The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) represents a crucial component for evaluating wake recovery as it defines the limit of the atmosphere where all convective activity occurs, and where the wind speed is affected by phenomena at the surface (heating, friction, etc.), before reaching the free atmosphere. This parameter is directly linked to stability conditions and determines the “space” for momentum flux recovery in wakes.Currently the ABL is a parameterized variable in wake models, either defined by a theoretical model or adapted from reanalysis data such as ERA5. This becomes an issue for offshore applications as conditions are mostly stably stratified, thus highlighting the importance of correctly representing the ABL for accurate model wake propagation impacts on energy production.Lidars present a viable solution to provide in-situ measurements that could help validate offshore ABL outputs from these models, which are highly relied upon in wind resource assessment and monitoring. This study presents a bias and sensitivity analysis of offshore lidar ABL measurements compared to ERA5 and WRF ABL model outputs. This analysis builds off Santos et al work from the GLOBE campaign of using scanning lidar measurements to validate ERA5 and WRF boundary layer heights by further investigating the sensitivity of this bias and adding a site with coastal conditions. Two separate campaigns lasting 6+ months in the North Sea were assessed: one located completely offshore from the GLOBE campaign, and another coastal from the FLOW project. The method used for lidar ABL measurements consists of an image binarization method to retrieve mixing layer heights from vertical velocity profiles and residual layers heights from return signal profiles. Several averaging methods were assessed to combine both residual and mixing layer heights to be compatible with the singular ABL heights given by the models The results demonstrate a gross overestimation of the ABL from both ERA5 and WRF, though WRF seems to perform slightly better than ERA5. The analysis is still ongoing, but a clear diurnal cycle sensitivity is prevalent indicating potential misrepresentation in offshore heat flux processes in the model parameterization. The lidar ABL distinction between mixing and residual layer provides an interesting perspective for convective and stable ABL conditions, both of which are represented differently depending on model parameterization. The purpose of presenting these results is to provide insight into how models could be corrected by on-site measurements by understanding their sensitivities and ultimately improving ABL representation in wake modelling.

Quantitative measurements of atmospheric aerosol optical properties are required for studies of the Earth’s radiation budget and climate change. Taking advantage of the broad spectrum of the Cabannes-Brillouin scattering from atmospheric molecules, the high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) technique employs a narrow spectral filter to reject the aerosol Mie scattering component in the lidar return signals. Therefore, an HSRL can directly measure the extinction and backscatter coefficient as well as the lidar ratio. Since the backscattering signal is proportional to 1/λ4, it presents high requirements for the spectral filter to build a near-infrared HSRL. The atomic/molecular absorption filters are limited by the wavelength and it is also challenging for Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPI) due to their small field of view(FOV). The field-widened Michelson interferometer, which has a large FOV, is considered to be a good candidate for the spectral filter of near-infrared HSRL. A polarized near-infrared HSRL instrument, which employs a field-widened Michelson interferometer as the spectral filter, is under development at the Zhejiang University (ZJU), China. In this paper, the methodology and design process of the instrument will be described in detail. The capability of the HSRL in determining the properties of the atmosphere will be addressed. The retrieval of the aerosol optical properties, such as extinction-to-backscatter ratio and aerosol depolarization ratio, will be presented. Sensitivity of the aerosol retrieval to errors in characterizing the spectral filter will also be investigated.

This work proves the feasibility of a novel concept of differential absorption lidar based on the Scheimpflug principle. The range‐resolved atmospheric backscattering signal of a laser beam is retrieved by employing a tilted linear sensor with a Newtonian telescope, satisfying the Scheimpflug condition. Infinite focus depth is achieved despite employing a large optical aperture. The concept is demonstrated by measuring the range‐resolved atmospheric oxygen concentration with a tunable continuous‐wave narrow‐band laser diode emitting around 761 nm over a path of one kilometer during night time. Laser power requirements for daytime operation are also investigated and validated with single‐band atmospheric aerosol measurements by employing a broad‐band 3.2‐W laser diode. The results presented in this work show the potential of employing the continuous‐wave differential absorption lidar (CW‐DIAL) technique for remote profiling of atmospheric gases in daytime if high‐power narrow‐band continuous‐wave light sources were to be employed.image

The methane emissions from the Hungarian Pannonian Basin are not well qualified, due to a lack of measurements of CH4 mole fraction and δ13CCH4 in the air. This study reports methane measurements in air samples from Hungary, placing them in the context of regional and global background data, to investigate the inputs to the methane burden in Central Europe. CH4 mole fraction and δ13CCH4 from the Hungarian tall tower station, Hegyhátsál, and additional data from Mace Head (Ireland) and Zeppelin (Svalbard) are used with back trajectory modeling to identify central European source areas and their seasonal variation between the summer vegetation and winter heating periods. Methane measurements in air masses sampled in the European interior, have significantly higher maxima and seasonal amplitudes than at the Mace Head and Zeppelin European background sites. The mean CH4 mole fraction value is about 80 ppb higher than the comparable marine background, and values above 2,000 ppb were frequently observed between February 2013 and December 2015. The mean δ13CCH4 value −47.5 ± 0.3‰ (2σ) was comparable to values at all three monitoring sites, but specific pollution events were detected at Hegyhátsál. Concentration weighted trajectory modeling, meteorological parameters, stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13CCH4), and Miller‐Tans analysis show that the main factors influencing CH4 at the Hegyhátsál, apart from diurnal and seasonal changes in the planetary boundary layer, are emissions from residential heating and industrial CH4 emissions during the winter.

The benefits of retrieving ozone concentration profiles by a use of a single Raman signal rather than the Raman differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique are investigated by numerical simulations applied either to KrF- (248 nm) or to quadrupled Nd:YAG- (266 nm) based Raman lidars, which are used for both daytime and nighttime monitoring of the tropospheric water-vapor mixing ratio. It is demonstrated that ozone concentration profiles of adequate accuracy and spatial and temporal resolution can be retrieved under low aerosol loading by a single Raman lidar because of the large value of the ozone absorption cross section both at 248 nm and at 266 nm. Then experimental measurements of Raman signals provided by the KrF-based lidar operating at the University of Lecce (40 degrees 20'N, 18 degrees 6'E) are used to retrieve ozone concentration profiles by use of the Raman DIAL technique and the nitrogen Raman signal.

Application of DIAL/HSRL and CATCH algorithm-based methodologies for surface PM2.5 concentrations during the KORUS-AQ campaign

Ice clouds in the Arctic are expected to have different radiative properties compared to mid latitude cirrus, because of the different humidity and temperature profile and also the prevalent aerosol loading in northern latitudes which govern their formation. During the late winter and early spring 2022 the HALO-(AC)3 campaign was conducted out of Kiruna (Sweden) to probe artic clouds with an airborne remote sensing payload. For this purpose, the German research aircraft HALO was equipped with a water vapor Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL), a cloud radar, micro-wave radiometers, radiation measurements in the visible, near infrared and thermal region and a drop-sonde dispenser. A total of 25 flights where performed mainly over the sea between Svalbard and Greenland and up to nearly 90°N.The primary observable to study ice cloud formation is the relative humidity, which is not directly measurable by lidar, but can only be computed with the aid of additional temperature information. By comparison with a large number of dropsondes launched during flight, we will show that the temperature field from ECMWF IFS analyses and short-term forecasts provides sufficient accuracy to retrieve the relative humidity for ice cloud studies. Using this method we will analyse different scenarios of arctic cirrus formation: under stable artic conditions, during a warm air intrusion and while a cold air outbreak. An interesting special case is the modification of cirrus properties by the presence of an aerosol layer which is most probably composed of long range transported Sharan dust. 

We propose an orbital differential absorption lidar operating near 1.84 µm to observe water vapor on Mars. With optimized wavelengths, the system offers high sensitivity to low-altitude water vapor and enables high-resolution, day-and-night observations of potential source regions-helping to close the existing observational gap in the lower atmosphere. Global simulations using feasible lidar parameters and the Mars climate database indicate that differential absorption optical depth can be measured with relative random errors below 1%, using a 1 mJ, 2 kHz laser, a 0.3 m telescope, and 1 km horizontal averaging. The water vapor weighted column mixing ratio can be retrieved to within 1% accuracy using climatological data, except in the southern polar region, where errors can reach 4% during northern winter.

: Recent improvements in mechanical and optical instrumentation precision have occurred. Therefore, the removal of meteorologically caused systematic errors is now a major consideration in stellar position accuracy and in the repeatability of arrangement in positions taken during nightly observations. The two problems singled out in this report are absolute water vapor content and temperature structure measurements. The study revealed that (1) estimates of water vapor distribution with an accuracy of approximately 20% would routinely correct position errors of 0.01 of angle and (2) that knowledge of the temperature structure with an accuracy of 0.5K would remove the systematic errors caused by isopycnic tilts, which range from 0.01 up to 0.1 of angle at extreme zenith viewing angles. The study showed that a remote-sensing solution to the measurement problems of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, is provided by LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Two major LIDAR systems that fulfill the Observatory's needs are based on Raman and DIAL (Differential Absorption Lidar) techniques. A study and review of experimental system using the DIAL and Raman techniques indicate tht a DIAL system is the recommended approach for simultaneous measurement of water vapor density and temperature. A DIAL system should be constructed to obtain ground-based vertical water vapor and temperature measurements. Further, alexandrite should be used as the lasing medium for the LIDAR system.