Mars water-ice clouds and precipitation.

The light detection and ranging instrument on the Phoenix mission observed water-ice clouds in the atmosphere of Mars that were similar to cirrus clouds on Earth. Fall streaks in the cloud structure traced the precipitation of ice crystals toward the ground. Measurements of atmospheric dust indicated that the planetary boundary layer (PBL) on Mars was well mixed, up to heights of around 4 kilometers, by the summer daytime turbulence and convection. The water-ice clouds were detected at the top of the PBL and near the ground each night in late summer after the air temperature started decreasing. The interpretation is that water vapor mixed upward by daytime turbulence and convection forms ice crystal clouds at night that precipitate back toward the surface.

Ozone differential absorption lidar algorithm intercomparison.

An intercomparison of ozone differential absorption lidar algorithms was performed in 1996 within the framework of the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Changes (NDSC) lidar working group. The objective of this research was mainly to test the differentiating techniques used by the various lidar teams involved in the NDSC for the calculation of the ozone number density from the lidar signals. The exercise consisted of processing synthetic lidar signals computed from simple Rayleigh scattering and three initial ozone profiles. Two of these profiles contained perturbations in the low and the high stratosphere to test the vertical resolution of the various algorithms. For the unperturbed profiles the results of the simulations show the correct behavior of the lidar processing methods in the low and the middle stratosphere with biases of less than 1% with respect to the initial profile to as high as 30 km in most cases. In the upper stratosphere, significant biases reaching 10% at 45 km for most of the algorithms are obtained. This bias is due to the decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio with altitude, which makes it necessary to increase the number of points of the derivative low-pass filter used for data processing. As a consequence the response of the various retrieval algorithms to perturbations in the ozone profile is much better in the lower stratosphere than in the higher range. These results show the necessity of limiting the vertical smoothing in the ozone lidar retrieval algorithm and questions the ability of current lidar systems to detect long-term ozone trends above 40 km. Otherwise the simulations show in general a correct estimation of the ozone profile random error and, as shown by the tests involving the perturbed ozone profiles, some inconsistency in the estimation of the vertical resolution among the lidar teams involved in this experiment.

Principal component analysis applied to multiwavelength lidar aerosol backscatter and extinction measurements.

The use of powerful Raman backscatter lidars enables one to measure the stratospheric aerosol extinction profile independently of the backscatter, thereby obtaining additional information to aid in retrieving the physical characteristics of the sampled aerosol. We used principal component analysis to construct a self-consistent method for the retrieval of aerosol bulk physical and optical properties from multiwavelength elastic and/or inelastic Raman backscatter lidar signals. The procedure is applied to synthetic and actual lidar signals. We found that aerosol surface area and volume can be usefully estimated and that the use of Raman-derived extinction data leads to a notable improvement in the accuracy of the estimations.

Correction for nonlinear photon-counting effects in lidar systems.

A useful analytic model describing the response of a photon-counting (PC) system has been developed. The model describes the nonlinear count loss and apparent count gain arising from the overlap of photomultiplier tube (PMT) pulses, taking into account the distribution in amplitude of the PMT output pulses and the effect of the pulse-height discrimination threshold. Comparisons between the model and Monte Carlo simulations show excellent agreement. The model has been applied to a PC lidar system with favorable results. Application of the model has permitted us to extend the linear operating range of the PC system and to quantify accurately the response of the system in its nonlinear operating regime, thus increasing the useful dynamic range of the system by 1 order of magnitude.

Automated method for lidar determination of cloud-base height and vertical extent.

An algorithm for the automated analysis of lidar cloud returns has been developed as part of the Experimental Cloud Lidar Pilot Study program. This automated method determines the cloud-base and cloud-top heights as well as the altitude of the maximum return signal. A large body of cloud data that were obtained at 532 and 1064 nm with a Nd:YAG lidar have been evaluated and it has been found that the algorithm can handle the wide range of complex cloud situations encountered. The need for a more careful definition of the cloud-base height and cloud-top height is described and discussed in relation to the existing measurements with rotating beam and laser ceilometers.

Transmitted beam profiles, integrated backscatter, and rangeresolved backscatter in inhomogeneous laboratory water droplet clouds.

Using laser sources at wavelengths of 1.06 and 10.6 microm, transmitted beam profiles, integrated backscatter, and range-resolved backscatter were measured in laboratory-generated water droplet clouds. Clouds with carefully controlled properties were produced in a specially designed cloud chamber. Inhomogeneities were introduced by partitioning the cloud chamber into three adjacent sections separated by air screens. The measurements show the influence of multiple-scattering effects in both the forward and backward measurement geometries, and these are investigated as functions of optical depth, cloud inhomogeneity, and receiver field of view. These data are unique in many ways, and they provide a great deal of insight to the scattering processes which directly affect lidar-type measurements. As well, these measurements provide a welldocumented and detailed database for model validation. Very good agreement is demonstrated with the solutions derived from the multiscattering propagation model described in a companion paper [Appl. Opt. 27, 2478 (1988), same issue].

Differences arising in the determination of the atmospheric extinction coefficient by transmission and target reflectance measurements.

Measurements of the optical extinction at a wavelength of 1.06 microm have been made in water droplet clouds. The extinction coefficient has been measured in the laboratory using two different methods simultaneously. In the first, measurements of the transmitted signal attenuation over a known path length were used. In the second the extinction coefficient was derived from the two-way attenuation of the signal reflected from a target on the opposite side of the cloud from the laser source and detector. It is found that in general the two values of the coefficient derived differ considerably, and the magnitude of the difference depends on the cloud density, the target size, and the system's optical parameters. The difference is shown to originate in the off-axis forward scattering caused by the cloud droplets, and the implications of the results on the measurement of the atmospheric extinction by reflection (lidar) techniques are discussed.

Determination of cloud microphysical properties by laser backscattering and extinction measurements.

The extinction and backscattering of 514-nm laser radiation in polydisperse water droplet clouds have been studied in the laboratory. Three cloud size distributions with modal diameters of 0.02, 5, and 12 microm have been investigated. The relationships between the cloud optical parameters (attenuation coefficient sigma and volume backscattering coefficient beta(pi)) and the cloud water content C have been measured for each size distribution. It has been found that a linear relationship exists between sigma and C and between beta(pi) and C for cloud water content values up to 3 g/m3. The linear relationships obtained, however, have slopes which depend on the droplet size distribution. For a given water content both sigma and beta(pi) increase as the modal diameter decreases. The measured data are compared with existing theoretical analyses and discussed in terms of their application to lidar measurements of atmospheric clouds. It is concluded that the empirical information obtained can serve as a basis for quantitative lidar measurements.

Four-component polarization measurement of lidar atmospheric scattering.

Measurements of the backscattering from the lower atmosphere of linearly polarized ruby lidar pulses at 694 nm are described. A four-channel receiver provides simultaneous measurements of the four components of the Stokes vector of the scattered radiation. These data are used to obtain information on the polarization state of the scattering and its dependence on atmospheric conditions. Results are presented and discussed for clear air, hazes, and several cloud types. In water droplet clouds some rotation of the plane of polarization and changes in ellipticity are noted in the backscattered wave. Linear polarization of the penetrating lidar beam is strongly preserved even in quite dense clouds. In view of the increased complexity of the four-component measurement technique it would appear that in such cases two-channel measurements of delta would be the most efficient lidar approach.

Polarization properties of lidar scattering from clouds at 347 nm and 694 nm.

The polarization characteristics of lidar scattering from cumulus and low-lying shower clouds have been measured with a system operating at 694 nm (red) and 347 nm (blue). The backscatter profiles of the polarization components as well as of the total intensity of the return are presented and discussed for the two wavelengths. The linear depolarization ratio delta, which can be used as a measure of the unpolarized multiple scattering, has been obtained at both wavelengths. This quantity has a very low value at cloud base for both wavelengths and increases with pulse penetration. The blue registers generally higher values of a within the cloud. The measured total intensity backscatter functions for both wavelengths are presented and discussed in relation to theoretical calculations of cloud models.

Multiple scattering in atmospheric clouds: lidar observations.

The contribution of multiple scattering in lidar backscattering from clouds has been investigated using a ruby laser at 694 nm. The depolarization of an incident linearly polarized signal is measured with a multichannel lidar receiver. An analysis is presented whereby this information can be utilized to measure the multiple scattering in clouds in which single scattering retains the incident linear polarization. Experimental data are presented for cumulus clouds and for ground level fog, and the results are compared with some recent theoretical computations.

Lidar polarization studies of the troposphere.

The polarization properties of lidar backscattering from the atmosphere have been measured using a ruby system operating at 694.3 nm and 347.2 nm. Linearly polarized signals are transmitted, and multiple receiver channels simultaneously sample the return with polarizers oriented parallel and perpendicular to the transmitted polarization. It is found that the polarization of the scattered signal varies substantially with meteorological conditions and that the signals can be employed to derive useful information about the atmospheric conditions.

Polarization properties of lidar backscattering from clouds.

The polarization properties of the backscattering of a lidar pulse from atmospheric clouds have been measured. A linearly polarized signal from a ruby laser at 694.3 nm is transmitted, and the scattering is simultaneously measured on a three-channel receiver that has polarizers oriented parallel, perpendicular, and at 45 degrees to the transmitted polarization. Substantial depolarizations (up to 0.5) are observed, and from the spatial variation of this depolarization the contribution of multiple scattering can be deduced.A wide variation in polarization properties is observed in different cloud types, and the results indicate that polarization signatures could be useful for cloud characterization and classification.

Laboratory measurements of light scattering by simulated atmospheric aerosols.

Using the Stokes vector formulation measurements are reported of the four principal components of the scattering matrix under controlled laboratory conditions. Two ranges of scattering conditions are considered: atmospheric air as a function of relative humidity (HAZE) and water droplet clouds (FOGS). A 50-mW (63284-A) He-Ne laser is used as the light source. A sensitive automated polar nephelometer, which has been developed for these measurements, records the scattered light as a function of scattering angle from 6 degrees to 174 degrees . A digital computer is used to calculate the matrix elements from the raw experimental data. The results may be compared with the theoretical computations of Deirmendjian and the field work of Rozenberg. The results of the experiments show pronounced dependence upon the relative humidity and the properties of the fogs that are explicable qualitatively. However, quantitative inversion of light scattering data to obtain such information as the size distribution requires comprehensive experiments of high precision and large amounts of computer time.

Focal properties of microwave lenses with small f-numbers.

The focal properties of microwave lenses with F-numbers of the order of unity have been experimentally investigated. The intensity and phase distributions in the focal region have been studied for several systems of polystyrene lenses utilizing microwave frequencies between 9.2 GHz and 70 GHz. The results have been compared with theoretical predictions based on scalar diffraction theory. An assessment of the useful values of beam width and depth of field is given.