Raman Lidar Measurements of Aerosol and Cloud Optical Properties in the Troposphere

A Raman lidar has been developed with photon counting technique. Aerosol and cloud extinction coefficients are derived by nitrogen (N2) molecular Raman scatter returns in the troposphere. Both backscatter coefficients and extinction-backscatter-ratios of aerosol and cloud are presented by simultaneously combining N2 Raman and Mie-Rayleigh returns of aerosol and molecule. Ratios of extinction to backscatter between 20 sr and 70 sr are usually found for aerosol, but less than 15 sr for mid-high altitude cloud in the troposphere.