Spectrally Resolved Raman Lidar to Measure Backscatter Spectra of Atmospheric Three-Phase Water and Fluorescent Aerosols Simultaneously: Instrument, Methodology, and Preliminary Results

This work presents a spectrally resolved Raman lidar (SRRL) for simultaneous measurement of volume backscattering coefficient spectra (backscatter spectra for short) of atmospheric three-phase water and fluorescent aerosols. The SRRL emits 354.8-nm laser light and records both N
₂
Raman echoes around 386.7 nm and spectral signals in a specially modified spectral range of ~393–424 nm. By defining normalized spectra, a unique spectra decomposition approach is developed for successive retrieval of normalized spectra components of fluorescent aerosols, water vapor, ice water, and liquid water. Furthermore, the backscatter spectra of each component are obtained by referencing the N
₂
Raman signals. Three typical measurement cases are provided. For the clear-day case, the lidar-measured normalized water vapor Raman spectra are found to be nearly invariant in shape and can serve as background spectra reference for decomposition of mixed-phase water Raman spectra. Besides, fluorescence backscatter intensities are usually weak enough to be neglected in clear areas. For the fluorescence case, the fluorescence backscatter intensities become much stronger to prevent accurate measurements of water vapor. For the mixed-phase water virga case, the decomposed backscatter spectra of condensed ice and liquid water indicate the coexistence of ice water and less amount of liquid water in the falling water virga. In conclusion, this kind of SRRL is believed to have provided the potential for simultaneous and accurate profiling of atmospheric water vapor and cloud liquid/ice water and opened up new perspectives for studies of cloud–aerosol interaction.