Differential Absorption Lidar Detection of Ozone in the Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere

Abstract

The distribution of ozone (O3), in the atmosphere has important implications for pollution, chemistry, and climate related processes in the troposphere and for the screening of solar ultraviolet radiation, chemistry, and thermal equilibrium in the stratosphere. The large spatial variability of O3 in the troposphere and in the vicinity of O3 depletion episodes in the stratosphere makes in situ sampling of O3 from balloons and aircraft inadequate for these types of O3 investigations. The Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) technique has been used since the early 1970’s for ground-based remote measurements of O3 and aerosols in the lower atmosphere. This has permitted frequent measurements of O3 and aerosols in the lower atmosphere. This has permitted frequent measurements of O3 profiles above or around a specific location, which is an improvement over infrequent balloon measurements and even more infrequent aircraft measurements. To address the regional- and large-scale processes associated with O3 transport and chemistry, an airborne DIAL system was developed in 1980 at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) for the measurement of O3 and aerosol distributions along the aircraft ground track. This DIAL system currently has the capability to measure O3 and multiple-wavelength aerosol profiles to a range of over 8 km above and below the aircraft simultaneously. Over 12 major field experiments have been conducted with the NASA airborne DIAL system since 1980 to study the transport and chemistry related to O3 and aerosols.