Down looking lidar inversion constrained by ocean reflection and forward scatter of laser light

Area of Science:

• Atmospheric optics
• Remote sensing
• Marine aerosol science

Background:

• Laser aureole phenomena arise from light scattering and reflection in the marine boundary layer.
• Accurate measurement of aerosol optical depth is crucial for atmospheric remote sensing.
• Existing lidar inversion methods can be limited by assumptions about aerosol properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model the laser aureole phenomenon at 1.06 micrometers.
• To investigate the correlation between laser aureole magnitude and aerosol optical depth.
• To improve lidar inversion accuracy for maritime aerosols.

Main Methods:

• Modeling laser aureole formation using sea surface reflection and aerosol forward scatter.
• Utilizing typical North Atlantic aerosol size distributions and a lognormal marine aerosol model.
• Estimating optical depth from the laser aureole to adjust lidar inversion parameters.

Main Results:

• A strong correlation was found between laser aureole magnitude and aerosol optical depth.
• The estimated optical depth successfully adjusted the extinction-backscatter relationship in lidar inversion.
• Lidar inversions using estimated optical depth predicted surface extinction five times better than climatological methods.

Conclusions:

• Laser aureole measurements provide a reliable method for estimating maritime aerosol optical depth.
• Adjusting lidar inversion with aureole-derived optical depth significantly enhances prediction accuracy.
• This approach offers a more robust solution for remote sensing of marine boundary layer aerosols.