Aerosol Size Distribution Determined From Multiple Field-Of-View Lidar

Abstract:

Knowledge of aerosol size distribution is essential for its influence on atmosphere and human health, especially for small particles because they are able to penetrate lung tissues, thus increasing the risk of bronchitis or lung diseases. Lidar as an active optical remote sensing technique is effective for monitoring aerosols with high temporal and spatial variations. Particles with diameters comparable to the detecting light wavelength have been effectively detected by using UV, VIS, and near-IR wavelengths. However, to quantitatively estimate the shape of the particle size distribution, more information is required with respect to sub-micrometer and smaller particles. Conventional lidar employs tiny field-of-view (FOV) to detect single scatter reflected from aerosols in the direction opposite to incident light. However, the complicated reflection on the path of laser causes multiple scatter which contains also the size distribution information of aerosols. In this study, a UV Lidar with multiple FOV receiver was used for detecting such multiple scattering effects in order to obtain more quantitative information related to particle size distribution. The FOV of Lidar receiver was program controlled in a range from 0.1 mrad to 12.4 mrad. The pacific retrieval method for aerosol size distribution using this feature and field measurement results will be introduced in the presentation.