First-time lidar measurement of water vapor flux in a volcanic plume

The CO₂ laser-based lidar ATLAS has been used to study the Stromboli volcano plume. ATLAS measured water vapor concentration in cross-sections of the plume and wind speed at the crater. Water vapor concentration and wind speed were retrieved by differential absorption lidar and correlation technique, respectively. Lidar returns were obtained up to a range of 3 km. The spatial resolution was 15 m and the temporal resolution was 20 s. By combining these measurements, the water vapor flux in the Stromboli volcano plume was found. To our knowledge, it is the first time that lidar retrieves water vapor concentrations in a volcanic plume.     

Fourier-wavelet regularized deconvolution (ForWaRD) for lidar systems based on TEA-CO2 laser

Lidar is an efficient tool for remotely measuring physical quantities or detecting targets. To improve the range resolution in long pulse lidars, such as lidar systems based on TEA-CO₂ lasers, deconvolution methods were used by previous investigators. Deconvolution is a noise sensitive process. In order to avoid noise amplification during the deconvolution process, the Fourier-wavelet regularized deconvolution method is used to deconvolve and denoise the back-scattered lidar signal simultaneously. This method is applied to lidar systems based on the TEA-CO₂ laser and the results are compared to nitrogen tail clipping method. Numerical simulation shows, in comparison to the clipping nitrogen tail technique, by using the ForWaRD method; the range resolution and working distance of the lidar is improved and the clipping tail apparatus is also eliminated.     

Measurement of tropospheric O3, SO2 and aerosol from a volcanic emission event using new multi-wavelength differential-absorption lidar techniques

We present measurements of tropospheric O₃, SO₂ and aerosol from a volcanic emission event using new multi-wavelength differential absorption lidar (DIAL) techniques that enable us to remove the mutual effects between O₃ and SO₂ from the raw measurements. The aerosol extinction coefficient is retrieved directly from the lidar return signal at the “off” wavelength and is used to estimate aerosol effects on O₃ and SO₂measurements. Null error, statistical error, and absorption cross-section error are also analyzed. The O₃ and SO₂ concentrations at height between 1000 m and 2000 m for a volcanic event on September 10, 2001 were about 20 ppb and 10–35 ppb, respectively, with an error less than 10 ppb. The measured SO₂ concentration was much higher than the normal SO₂ background value (∼1 ppb) in the troposphere. We also measured O₃ concentrations from 13 December 2000 to 06 January 2001 and investigated O₃ diurnal variation during a 24-hour period on November 24, 2000. A high O₃ concentration of about 250 ppb was observed in late December 2000. PACS 42.68.Wt; 42.68.Kh; 42.68.Jg     

Lidar Network System for Monitoring the Atmospheric Environment in Jakarta City

A lidar network system consisting of two Mie scattering lidars and one differential absorption lidar was developed to measure the atmospheric environment in Jakarta. The three lidars were installed at three locations in Jakarta to study atmospheric boundary layer structure and transportation of atmospheric pollutants. The Mie scattering lidars employ compact flashlamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers operated at 1064 nm fundamental. They are installed in shelters and directed vertically. One of the Mie lidar has a rotating wedged window for scanning conically to measure wind velocity using a correlation method. The DIAL system employs two Nd:YAG laser-pumped optical parametric oscillators. The DIAL is designed to measure distribution of ozone and SO₂ in the near UV region, and NO₂ in the 450-nm region. The system is installed in a shelter and has a full scanning capability.     

Experimental and theoretical studies related to a dye laser differential lidar system for the determination of atmospheric So2 and NO2 concentrations

Laboratory measurements of the absorption coefficients of NO₂ at wavelengths suitable for the operation of differential absorption lidar (DIAL) systems, at around 446 nm and 489 nm are reported. Such measurements are necessary for the valid determination of absolute levels of concentration of NO₂ in the atmosphere and have been made in order to assess anomalies in existing data. A theoretical assessment of some of the optional systems currently available for the application of DIAL to the measurement of atmospheric concentrations of SO₂ is described.     

New UV tunable solid-state lasers for lidar applications

We present the first lidar/DIAL system based on an Ultra Violet (UV) vibronic laser. A Nd:YAG-pumped Ce:LiSAF laser has been developed for this purpose, providing high pulse energy (5 mJ at 10 Hz), very high slope efficiency (33%), and a tuning range from 284 to 299 nm. Simultaneous measurements of SO₂ and O₃ concentration profiles are presented using this frequency-agile Ce:LiSAF-based lidar system.     

Simultaneous tunable two-wavelength ultraviolet dye laser

A dye laser system allowing simultaneous tunable two-wavelength oscillationin the ultraviolet has been developed. An intra-cavity dual beam system employs one diffraction and grating frequencydoubling at both wavelengths is achieved with bidirectional illumination of a single KDP crystal. The system characteristics will be discussed with respect to application in a differential absorption lidar operating around 300 nm for atmospheric SO₂ detection.     

Remote sensing of mass fluxes of trace gases in the boundary layer

The combination of remote sensing methods like Doppler lidar and FTIR offers the possibility to determine mass fluxes of gases remotely. Doppler lidar measures the three-dimensional wind vector in the vicinity of diffuse sources or the velocity of air in a chimney plume if an industrial complex is monitored. FTIR is a multi-component remote sensing method for gas concentrations. The Fourier transformation of an interferogram of a Michelson interferometer within a FTIR system converts the recorded intensity (function of optical path length) to a spectral signal (function of wavenumber). Both information, velocity and concentration, give the mass fluxes of the tracer (gas). A first test was performed at Munich-North power station with FTIR and cw-Doppler lidar. Fluxes of CO₂, CO, NO, and HC1 were determined. The results are in good agreement with the fluxes measured by in-situ instruments of the power station. The method can be used to control industrial complexes from an outside observation site.     

Development of an OPO system at 1.57 μm for integrated path DIAL measurement of atmospheric carbon dioxide

Active remote sensing is a promising technique to close the gaps that exist in global measurement of atmospheric carbon dioxide sources, sinks and fluxes. Several approaches are currently under development. Here, an experimental setup of an integrated path differential absorption lidar (IPDA) is presented, operating at 1.57 μm using direct detection. An injection seeded KTP-OPO system pumped by a Nd:YAG laser serves as the transmitter. The seed laser is actively stabilized by means of a CO₂ reference cell. The line-narrowed OPO radiation yields a high spectral purity, which is measured by means of a long path absorption cell. First measurements of diurnal variations of the atmospheric CO₂ mixing ratio using a topographic target were performed and show good agreement compared to simultaneously taken measurements of an in situ device. A further result is that the required power reference measurement of each laser pulse in combination with the spatial beam quality is a critical point of this method. The system described can serve as a testbed for further investigations of special features of the IPDA technique. PACS  42.65.Yj; 42.68.Wt; 92.60.hg     

Iterative Deconvolution Algorithm for Improving Range Resolution of a CO2-Laser Based Lidar System

An iterative deconvolution algorithm for improving range resolution of long-pulse lidars is proposed, and can be applied to the lidar data obtained with the typical pulse of a CO₂-laser which consists of a gain-switching peak and a long tail. The lidar signal itself with certain temporal shift is set to be the start profile for the unknown maximally resolved profile in the proposed technique, and then is corrected in proportion to the difference between the lidar return calculated with the assumption and the real one. The same process is repeated until the correction is smaller than tolerance. Simulations are made to test the performance of the proposed algorithm. We investigate the errors in the vicinity of data boundary in the retrieved profile when a part of lidar data is absent. The sensitivity of the iteration algorithm to noise in the lidar signals and the laser pulse profile is also numerically determined.     

Laser remote sensing and photoacoustic spectrometry applied in air pollution investigation

We have applied two spectroscopic techniques in order to investigate air pollution dispersion in real and simulated atmosphere: the Titan–Sapphire laser technique based on differential absorption lidar (DIAL), and CO₂ laser photoacoustic spectrometry (LPS). A set of spatial NO₂ measurements was performed over a highway outside a city and in an urban street canyon with extensive traffic. Qualitative agreement was found between the results obtained by DIAL and by physical modeling based on LPS measurements in a wind tunnel.     

Modeling of helicopter-borne tunable TEA CO2 DIAL system employment for detection of methane and ammonia leakages

The characteristics of a helicopter-borne lidar based on tunable TEA CO₂ laser and its third harmonic designed for remote detection of methane and ammonia leakages from pipelines are analyzed numerically. The spectral range near 3 μm was shown to be most promising for remote sensing of methane emissions. Parameters of radiation of the tunable pulse-periodic mini-TEA CO₂ laser and generators of harmonics to be utilized in the helicopter-borne differential absorption lidar are estimated. Emissions of different gas intensities are analyzed for possible detectability at a distance of up to 1 km. The use of the third harmonic of the TEA CO₂ laser allows methane emissions from a pipeline to be detected and measured with mean measurement error from 10% to 15% for methane concentrations varying from the background level to the explosion-hazardous one. The optimal pair and possibilities of the ammonia remote sensing on the base of the first harmonic of TEA CO₂ laser were determined as well.     

Application of Geometrical Form Factor in Differential Absorption Lidar Measurement

The peak position for a lidar return signal is calculated and measured for the horizontal path with variation of the laser beam divergence angle (θ), and the inclination angle (δ) between the telescope and laser axes. This work shows that θ and δ are very important parameters to use in the design or alignment of a lidar system receiving a good lidar signal. This paper describes an experimental determination of geometrical form factors in the lidar equation. We receive the signals and determine the geometrical form factors by slope method in a homogeneous atmosphere. The differential absorption lidar equation is evaluated for the dual-pulse lidar system. A method using a geometrical form factor determined by the experiment is introduced to correct the error in C₂H₄ measurement. This method shows good correction of measurement error in lidar dual-pulse operation, especially in the short range.     

合肥上空大气二氧化碳Raman激光雷达探测研究

Raman激光雷达是用于大气成分探测与特性研究的有效工具.介绍了中科院安徽光学精密机械研究所自行研制的一台用于测量低对流层大气CO₂时空分布的Raman激光雷达系统,并进行了一系列观测实验和对比分析.系统选用波长355 nm的紫外激光作为光源,利用光子计数卡双通道采集大气中N₂和CO₂的Raman后向散射信号与Li-7500型H₂O/CO₂分析仪进行对比标定,通过反演获得了大气CO₂水平与垂直方向时空分布廓线,并且获得了合肥地区大气边界层CO₂的夜变化趋势.结果表明,大气CO₂在空间的分布相对均匀,Raman激光雷达与CO₂分析仪变化趋势一致性较好,能够对大气CO₂时空分布进行有效、连续的观测.     

An optical system for measuring nitric oxide using spectral separation techniques

An optical sensor based on differential absorption spectroscopy for real-time monitoring of industrial nitric oxide (NO) gas emission is described. The influence of gas absorption interference from sulfur dioxide (SO₂) in the environment was considered and a spectral separation technique was developed in order to eliminate this interference effect. The absorption spectrum of SO₂ around 226 nm was evaluated by the SO₂ concentration obtained using the experimentally recorded absorption spectrum around 300 nm. The absorption spectrum of NO around 226 nm was obtained by subtracting the absorption of SO₂ from the integral absorption spectrum of SO₂ and NO. The concentration measurements were performed at atmospheric pressure. The technique was found to have a lower detection limit of 0.8 ppm for NO per meter path length (SNR=2) and be immune from the influence from SO₂ on the NO measurement. The sensor based on this technique was successfully employed for in situ measurement of SO₂ and NO concentrations in the flue gas emitted from an industrial coal-fired boiler.     

The airborne multi-wavelength water vapor differential absorption lidar WALES: system design and performance

A high-performance airborne water vapor differential absorption lidar has been developed during the past years. This system uses a four-wavelength/three-absorption line measurement scheme in the 935 nm H₂O absorption band to cover the whole troposphere and lower stratosphere simultaneously. Additional high spectral resolution aerosol and depolarization channels allow precise aerosol characterization. This system is intended to demonstrate a future space-borne instrument. For the first time, it realizes an output power of up to 12 W at a high wall-plug efficiency using diode-pumped solid-state lasers and nonlinear conversion techniques. Special attention was given to a rugged optical layout. This paper describes the system layout and technical realization. Key performance parameters are given for the different subsystems.     

Fourier transform measurements of SO2 absorption cross sections:: I. Temperature dependence in the 24 000–29 000 cm−1 (345–420 nm) region

Absorption cross sections of SO₂ have been obtained in the 24 000–29 000 cm^?1 spectral range (345–420 nm) with a Fourier transform spectrometer at a resolution of 2 cm^?1. Pure SO₂ samples were used and measurements were performed at room temperature (298 K) as well as at 318, 338 and 358 K. This is the first time that temperature effects in this spectral region are reported and investigated. This paper is the first of a series that will report on measurements of the absorption cross section of SO₂ in the UV/visible region at a higher than previously reported resolution and that will investigate temperature effects in support of tropospheric, stratospheric and astrophysical or planetary applications.     

条纹管激光成像系统空间分辨力实验研究

简要分析了非扫描激光成像的技术优势,介绍了利用条纹管实现非扫描激光成像的工作原理,说明了图像空间分辨力与系统距离精度的对应关系。对影响图像空间分辨力的主要因素进行了理论分析,得到了系统总空间分辨力与各单元器件空间分辨力和放大倍率的对应关系,在此基础上,对现有条纹管成像系统进行了相应的计算,得到了空间分辨力的理论预期值;最后,提出了一种基于分辨力板成像的系统空间分辨力测试方法,设计了相应的验证实验,对实测图像进行了去噪处理和数据分析,得到了图像的衬比度传递函数(CTF)曲线,通过衬比度传递函数分析,计算出了成像系统的实际空间分辨力,并将实测的分辨力数据与理论值进行了对比分析。     

Dielectric relaxation and ion transport in silver–boro-tellurite glasses

Glass systems of composition xAg₂SO₄–20Ag₂O–(80?x) [0.50 B₂O₃–0.50 TeO₂], where x = 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mol% have been prepared by melt-quenching technique. Frequency- and temperature-dependent conductivity measurements have been carried out in the frequency range 10 Hz to 10 MHz and at a temperature range of 303–353 K, respectively. DC conductivities exhibit Arrhenius behavior over the entire temperature range with a single activation barrier. Addition of Ag₂SO₄ expands the glass network and, consequently, conductivity increases. This suggests that the structure and network expansion are the key parameters for enhancing conductivity. Impedance spectra of these glasses show a single semicircle, indicating one type of conduction. AC conductivity behavior of the glasses was analyzed using both single power law and Kolhrauh–William–Watts (KWW) stretched exponential relaxation function. The power law exponent (s) is temperature-dependent, while the stretched exponent (β) is insensitive to temperature. Scaling behavior has also been carried out using reduced plots of conductivity with frequency, which suggests the ion transport mechanism remains unaffected by temperature and composition.     

Multipulse gate-delayed range gating imaging lidar

We present a technique to reconstruct a higher resolution of depth map of range gating imaging lidar by applying the delays of the gates to a typical range gating lidar system during the detection of each returned laser pulse with the encoding of the returned signal. With the consequent delays of the gate, the depth of the scene is extended accordingly. A multipulse gate-delayed range gating lidar system is designed to prove the resolution improvement from 6 to 1.5 m. The unchanged peak power of the laser, the widths of the laser pulse and the sampling period result in a simple structure of the lidar system.