A detection of atmospheric relative humidity profile by UV Raman lidar

A new spectroscopic filter constructed with a high-spectral-resolution grating and two narrow-band mirrors is designed to separate the elastic scattering and the vibrational Raman scattering spectra in an ultraviolet (UV) Raman lidar system. The density of humidity and water vapor mixing ratio are calculated from the vibrational Raman scattering signals of N₂ and H₂O. Water vapor mixing ratio is retrieved from this development. With this measured water vapor mixing ratio, the relative humidity is calculated with atmospheric temperature profile obtained by another Raman temperature lidar. Preliminary experiments and comparison results between lidar and radiosonde showed that the UV Raman lidar system has the capability for profiling the water vapor mixing ratio up to a height of 2 km with less than 10% of the uncertainty under the conditions of laser energy of 300 mJ and signal-averaging time of 10 min.     

Raman lidar measurements of tropospheric water vapor over Hefei

L625 Raman lidar has been developed for water vapor measurements over Hefei, China since September 2000. By transmitting laser beam of frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser, Raman scattering signals of water vapor and nitrogen molecules are simultaneously detected by the cooled photomultipliers with photon counting mode. Water vapor mixing ratios measured by Raman lidar show the good agreements with radiosonde observations, which indicates this Raman lidar is reliable. Many observation cases show that aerosol optical parameters have the good correlation with water vapor distribution in the lower troposphere.     

水汽探测拉曼激光雷达的新型光谱分光系统设计与分析

提出并设计了一套新型的大气水汽和气溶胶探测用紫外域拉曼激光雷达系统, 以二向色镜和超窄带滤光片构成高效率拉曼光谱分光系统, 实现激光雷达大气回波信号中米-瑞利散射信号、 氮气和水汽的振动拉曼散射信号的精细分离和高效率提取. 利用美国标准大气的分子散射模型和实测的大气米散射信号模型, 对分光系统的米-瑞利散射信号的抑制率、大气水汽测量的信噪比和误差进行数值仿真设计. 搭建实验系统对西安地区夜间的大气水汽进行实验观测, 并利用有云天气下实测的激光雷达回波信号, 反演获得大气后向散射比和水汽混合比的相关特性, 验证了该拉曼光谱分光系统对米-瑞利信号的抑制率达到10^-7以上量级. 理论和实验结果表明, 设计的新型拉曼光谱分光系统可以在大气后向散射比为17时, 实现水汽探测误差小于15%, 满足拉曼激光雷达系统对大气水汽的高效率探测. 关键词： 拉曼激光雷达 水汽混合比 大气后向散射比     

新型车载式拉曼激光雷达测量对流层水汽

水汽体积比仅仅占整个空气的0.1%~3%,但它却是大气中时空变化最为活跃的气体。拉曼激光雷达由于其测量精度高、探测范围广以及自动化程度高,成为现今测量大气水汽含量的新型工具。介绍了中国科学院安徽光学精密机械研究所于2004年10月自行研制的国内首台车载式拉曼激光雷达的总体结构和主要技术参量,给出其相应激光雷达数据的反演方法,该激光雷达在合肥地区进行了实际测量和对比实验。测量结果显示:该激光雷达夜晚探测水汽的高度范围可以从近地面到达对流层中部8 km左右。同时,该激光雷达还尝试进行了白天水汽探测实验,并首次得出突变层内的水汽混合比垂直廓线。     

Raman lidar for the study of liquid water and water vapor in the troposphere

A Raman lidar system based on a tripled Nd:YAG laser is used for profiling of water vapor and liquid water in the troposphere. The Raman signals from water in the gas and liquid state are separated by interference filters and their relative intensities are studied for different atmospheric conditions. For clean weather or immediately after the rain the Raman signal from liquid water inside PBL is about one order of magnitude lower than the signal from water vapor. But during cloud measurements both Raman signals become comparable and the results of water vapor measurements must be corrected for the interference of liquid water Raman scattering. The obtained results are used for the estimation of liquid water content in the atmosphere. Received: 4 October 1999 / Revised version: 18 February 2000 / Published online: 11 May 2000     

Combined raman elastic-backscatter LIDAR for vertical profiling of moisture,aerosol extinction,backscatter, and LIDAR ratio

A combined Raman elastic-backscatter lidar has been developed. A XeCl excimer laser is used as the radiation source. Inelastic Raman backscatter signals are spectrally separated from the elastic signal with a filter or grating polychromator. Raman channels can be chosen to register signals from CO₂, O₂, N₂, and H₂O. Algorithms for the calculation of the water-vapor mixing ratio from the Raman signals and the particle extinction and backscatter coefficients from both elastic and inelastic backscatter signals are given. Nighttime measurements of the vertical humidity distribution up to the tropopause and of particle extinction, backscatter, and lidar ratio profiles in the boundary layer, in high-altitude water and ice clouds, and in the stratospheric aerosol layer are presented. Daytime boundary-layer measurements of moisture and particle extinction are made possible by the improved daylight suppression of the grating polychromator. Test measurements of the CO₂ mixing ratio indicate the problems for the Raman lidar technique in monitoring other trace gases than water vapor.     

基于拉曼激光雷达的大气三相态水同步精细探测分光系统的设计与仿真分析

水是惟一具有三相态的大气参数,三相态水的分布研究对认识云微物理、云降水物理以及人工影响天气过程具有重要的科学意义.在大气三相态水的拉曼激光雷达探测技术中,需首先解决三相态水的高光谱分光技术,以保证对回波信号的精细提取和高信噪比探测.考虑到水汽、液态水和固态水的拉曼光谱特性,本文首先通过理论仿真详细探讨了各拉曼通道中滤光片的选型参数对三相态水光谱重叠特性和探测信噪比的影响;并针对两者无法同时取得最优解的情况,提出了利用多目标规划问题的评价函数方法,分析获得了各通道最优的滤光片参数.结果表明,当固态水、液态水和水汽通道窄带滤光片中心波长和带宽分别为397.9 nm （3.1 nm）,403 nm （5 nm）和407.6 nm （0.6 nm）时,可获得各通道间最低的光谱重叠度值和最佳探测信噪比,从而实现了三相态水同步探测拉曼分光系统的优化设计.进一步的仿真结果表明,当激光雷达探测效率因子为1800 J·mm·min时,在有云条件下系统可获得白天3.6 km以上和晴天条件下4 km以上的三相态水有效探测,保证了利用拉曼激光雷达实现对三相态水的同步高信噪比探测,为后续大气三相态水的拉曼激光雷达同步探测和反演提供了技术和理论支持.     

Study of atmospheric water in gaseous and. liquid state by using combined elastic–Raman. depolarization lidar

A combined elastic–Raman lidar system based on a tripled Nd:YAG laser is used for the separate detection of elastic backscatter and Raman signals from atmospheric nitrogen, water vapor and liquid water and for their depolarization measurement. Vertical profiles of water-vapor and liquid-water content measured under clear-sky conditions behave differently: inside the boundary layer the ratio of liquid-water to water-vapor Raman backscatters rises with altitude. The depolarization measurements bring additional information about atmospheric scattering. The observed depolarization ratio of the water-vapor Raman signal is about 14%, while for liquid water this ratio varies in the 30–75% range, which exceeds the depolarization of bulk water and is attributed to the water-aerosol effects. Raman contours of water vapor and liquid water are partially overlapped, and bleed-through of liquid-water Raman backscatter leads to enhancement of depolarization of the water-vapor Raman signal. This parameter may be used as a convenient indicator of liquid-water interference in water-vapor measurements. Received: 12 December 2000 / Revised version: 27 September 2001 / Published online: 7 November 2001     

Spectrum characteristics of multichannel water Raman lidar signals and principal component analysis

Using a multichannel full Raman lidar, water Raman signals composed of 32 different Raman wavelengths were obtained, and the time and cloud-height dependences of each spectrum on clear and cloudy days were determined. Although the Raman signals of winter cloud have a higher intensity at short wavelengths than those of summer cloud, these two types of clouds have large overlapping regions in wavelength space. However, in eigenvector space, winter and summer clouds are located at different points and have no overlapping regions. We have suggested that, as a cloud Raman lidar, a multiple-wavelength Raman lidar must be used, and the principal component analysis (PCA) method should be applied to determine the relative amount of each water phase.     

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.     

Development of a mobile Raman-Mie lidar system for all time water vapor and aerosol detection

A turn-key Raman-Mie lidar system for water vapor and aerosol detection is described, which is placed in a boxcar and can be operated both at night and daytime. The operation of the lidar is very simple, especially, it does not need readjustment after road transit. The effective detection range of the system can reach tropopause for aerosol, and the improved system can obtain water vapor profile in boundary layers during daytime. Some experimental results and validations are presented.     

国外差分吸收激光雷达探测大气水汽廓线的研究进展

水汽含量是大气最基本的物理参量之一,大气水汽垂直分布结构对于大气过程的研究十分有意义。差分吸收激光雷达可以昼夜获取高精度、高距离分辨率的大气水汽垂直分布廓线,是最有潜力的探测手段。国际上已经发展出几种类型的差分吸收激光雷达,对它们的发展路径做一梳理,理清发展脉络,具有有益的参考价值。其中,稍早时期水汽差分吸收激光雷达工作在4ν振动吸收带720～730 nm频域,以Alexandrite为主流的激光器或者Nd∶YAG/ruby固体激光器泵浦的染料激光器作为发射光源,光电倍增管仍然可以在这个波段担任探测器,代表性的仪器是法国的机载LEANDRE Ⅱ。此后发展的820 nm波段的水汽差分吸收激光雷达,以钛宝石激光器或钛宝石光放大器为发射机,以硅的雪崩二极管作为探测器,紧跟前置放大和数据的AD采集器,如德国Hohenheim大学的车载扫描激光雷达,可以获得对流层300～4 000 m之间水汽两维或三维分布结构;德国Institutfür Meteorologie und Klimaforschung所建立的差分吸收激光雷达可以探测3～12 km高度之间大气的水汽垂直分布。720和820 nm波段水汽吸收截面较小,更适合于地基或车载的对流层水汽廓线探测。而水汽3ν振动谱935 nm区域吸收截面较大,是为了空间探测大气对流层上、平流层下相对干燥区域的水汽分布而准备的,且可以安排多个探测波长,和一个参考波长,它们对水汽的吸收截面大小呈梯度分布,以应对空间对地观测时不同高度大气水汽浓度的差别。基于种子注入的光参量振荡器或Nd∶YGG全固态激光器的935 nm差分吸收激光雷达,以德国Deutsches Zentrumfür Luft- und Raumfahrt的研究最为成功,推动了欧洲空间局立项发展空间水汽差分吸收激光雷达WALES（Water Vapour Lidar Experiment in Space）,测量从地球表面到平流层下、高垂直分辨率和高精度水汽浓度分布。机载多波长水汽差分吸收激光雷达1999年建立起来,担当空间WALES任务的模拟器,2006年完成了机载飞行试验。以823～830 nm分布布拉格反射半导体激光器和半导体光放大器为核心、采用雪崩二极管盖格光子计数技术的微脉冲差分吸收激光雷达,是差分吸收激光雷达面向商业化、可普及的方向迈出的重要一步,目前已经发展到第四代产品。发射机激光工作波长的长期稳定十分重要而棘手,以窄带连续波种子激光注入脉冲激光器的谐振腔锁定其的腔长,种子激光的波长以水汽的多通道光吸收池为参照标准,或以高精度波长计为误差获取手段,通过负反馈进行主动稳频;其次,需要仔细考虑大气对激光的后向散射光谱线型,显然Rayleigh后向散射光的多普勒展宽与水汽吸收光谱线宽度可以比拟,所以其吸收截面σ_on和σ_off必需加以修正;水汽的空间垂直分布梯度大,因此差分吸收激光雷达应该实行分通道探测。     

激光波长对拉曼散射水温遥感系统测温精度及探测深度的影响

机载激光拉曼散射雷达技术可以快速获取次表层海水温度的三维分布,具有重要的实用价值和经济价值.首先,从理论上分析了水的伸缩振动拉曼谱峰值位置和半高全宽与激发波长之间的对应关系,发现随着激发波长的增大,拉曼峰逐渐向长波方向移动,且拉曼光谱半高全宽显著增大.然后,实验测量了不同温度下450 nm激光和532 nm激光激发的水的拉曼光谱,对比验证了上述理论分析结果.并采用单高斯峰拟合法分析了两组拉曼光谱,拟合出高斯峰峰值位置与温度之间的关系,分析了激发波长对温度测量精度的影响.研究发现,采用较长波长的激发光可以提高拉曼光谱的测量精度,从而改善测温精度.最后,建立了拉曼散射雷达方程,分析了拉曼散射系数与激光波长之间的关系,研究了激光波长对雷达系统探测深度的影响.结果表明,激光波长对雷达系统探测深度有很大的影响,采用480 nm以下波长的激光时雷达系统探测深度较大,而采用长波段激光时雷达系统探测深度会大幅降低.实际系统设计中选取激光光源时需要综合考虑上述两方面的影响.     

Optical depth and multiple scattering depolarization in liquid clouds

In this paper, we calculate multiply scattered lidar signals with Monte Carlo method for measuring optical depth (extinction coefficient), effective size of water droplets, and liquid water content of clouds, and present algorithms that implement our method. We calculated multiply scattered lidar signals for various water droplet sizes and liquid water contents using a Monte Carlo method. A simple correspondence between water droplet optical depth and the degree of polarization in a modified gamma size distribution (C₁ cloud) is found. We also calculated the degree of polarization of a lidar signal for a given liquid water content, finding that the degree of polarization is only dependent on optical depth. Since the Raman lidar signal of liquid water depends on the total volume of the water droplet, the effective radius of the water droplet can thus be recovered from the degree of polarization of the lidar signal and the Raman signal of the liquid water.     

Capability of Raman lidar for monitoring the variation of atmospheric CO2 profile

Lidar (Light detection and ranging) has special capabilities for remote sensing of many different behaviours of the atmosphere. One of the techniques which show a great deal of promise for several applications is Raman scattering. The detecting capability, including maximum operation range and minimum detectable gas concentration is one of the most significant parameters for lidar remote sensing of pollutants. In this paper, based on the new method for evaluating the capabilities of a Raman lidar system, we present an evaluation of detecting capability of Raman lidar for monitoring atmospheric CO$_{2}$ in Hefei. Numerical simulations about the influence of atmospheric conditions on lidar detecting capability were carried out, and a conclusion can be drawn that the maximum difference of the operation ranges caused by the weather conditions alone can reach about 0.4 to 0.5km with a measuring precision within 30ppmv. The range of minimum detectable concentration caused by the weather conditions alone can reach about 20 to 35 ppmv in vertical direction for 20000 shots at a distance of 1 km on the assumption that other parameters are kept constant. The other corresponding parameters under different conditions are also given. The capability of Raman lidar operated in vertical direction was found to be superior to that operated in horizontal direction. During practical measurement with the Raman lidar whose hardware components were fixed, aerosol scattering extinction effect would be a significant factor that influenced the capability of Raman lidar. This work may be a valuable reference for lidar system designing, measurement accuracy improving and data processing.     

拉曼激光雷达探测低对流层大气二氧化碳分布

介绍了中国科学院安徽光学精密机械研究所研制成功的我国第一台测量低对流层大气CO2时空分布的拉曼激光雷达系统,选用波长355nm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的拉曼后向散射信号。详细分析了拉曼激光雷达系统的定标方法,提出采用Li7500型H2O/CO2分析仪与拉曼激光雷达系统进行对比与标定,结果显示激光雷达与CO2分析仪数据变化趋势一致性较好,激光雷达具有很高的探测灵敏度与准确性,通过线性拟合水平方向标定误差小于0.2%,垂直方向小于1.4%。由标定关系反演出大气中CO2的时空分布,给出了合肥西郊低对流层大气CO2水平方向0～2.0km与垂直方向0～2.5km分布的典型测量结果。     

Capability of Raman lidar for monitoring the variation of atmospheric CO2 profile

Lidar （Light detection and ranging） has special capabilities for remote sensing of many different behaviours of the atmosphere. One of the techniques which show a great deal of promise for several applications is Raman scattering. The detecting capability, including maximum operation range and minimum detectable gas concentration is one of the most significant parameters for lidar remote sensing of pollutants. In this paper, based on the new method for evaluating the capabilities of a Raman lidar system, we present an evaluation of detecting capability of Raman lidar for monitoring atmospheric CO2 in Hefei. Numerical simulations about the influence of atmospheric conditions on lidar detecting capability were carried out, and a conclusion can be drawn that the maximum difference of the operation ranges caused by the weather conditions alone can reach about 0.4 to 0.5km with a measuring precision within 30ppmv. The range of minimum detectable concentration caused by the weather conditions alone can reach about 20 to 35 ppmv in vertical direction for 20000 shots at a distance of 1 km on the assumption that other parameters are kept constant. The other corresponding parameters under different conditions are also given. The capability of Raman lidar operated in vertical direction was found to be superior to that operated in horizontal direction. During practical measurement with the Raman lidar whose hardware components were fixed, aerosol scattering extinction effect would be a significant factor that influenced the capability of Raman lidar. This work may be a valuable reference for lidar system designing, measurement accuracy improving and data processing.     

Ultraviolet Raman lidar for high-accuracy profiling of aerosol extinction coefficient

An ultraviolet （UV） Raman lidar system at 354.7 nm has been developed for accurately measuring the aerosol extinction profiles. A spectroscopic filter combining a high-spectral-resolution grating with two narrowband mirrors is used to separate the vibrational Raman scattering signal of N2 at a central wavelength of 386.7 nm and the elastic scattering signal at 354.7 nm. The aerosol extinction is derived from the Raman scattering of N2 and the elastic scattering by the use of Raman method and Klett method, respectively. The derived results of aerosol extinction are used to compare the difference of two retrieval methods, and the preliminary experiment shows that the Raman lidar system operated in analog detection mode has the capability of measuring aerosol profiles up to a height of 3 km with a laser energy of 250 mJ and an integration time of 8 min.     

日盲紫外域拉曼激光雷达探测大气水汽技术研究

拉曼激光雷达通过探测与水汽浓度相关的大气水汽振动拉曼散射回波信号,可实现大气水汽混合比廓线的探测。然而由于振动拉曼信号非常微弱,在白天测量时振动拉曼散射光谱会淹没在太阳背景光中,多在夜间测量。为实现大气水汽的全天时测量,设计开发一套日盲紫外波段拉曼激光雷达系统。该系统选择Nd∶YAG脉冲激光器的四倍频输出-266.0 nm日盲紫外波段作为拉曼激光雷达系统的激励波长,采用镀高增益介质膜的牛顿式望远镜作为接收器,同时利用二向色镜和超窄带干涉滤光片设计高效率的高光谱分光系统,实现了大气氧气、氮气和水汽振动拉曼散射回波信号277.5,283.6和294.6 nm的精细提取。计算仿真结果表明,臭氧吸收对日盲紫外域拉曼激光雷达探测存在一定的影响,主要是探测距离的影响;氮气通道不受白天太阳背景光噪声的影响;水汽通道存在少量太阳背景光噪声,对系统探测距离略有影响。而系统信噪比计算结果表明,设计的日盲紫外域拉曼激光雷达系统可实现白天3.5 km大气水汽的探测。实际进行水汽探测时,可利用氮气和氧气通道反演出臭氧浓度廓线,修正臭氧对发射波长、各通道拉曼散射波长的吸收,进一步提升系统的探测能力和探测精度。