Optical properties of an industrial fire observed with a ground based N2-Raman lidar over the Paris area

Abstract

This paper presents the first, to our knowledge, lidar measurement of an industrial fire plume, which covered the north of the Paris area on 17th April 2015. The fire started in a textile warehouse and rapidly spread by emitting large quantities of aerosols into the low troposphere. A ground based N2-Raman lidar performed continuous measurements during this event. Vertical profiles of the aerosol extinction coefficient, depolarization and lidar ratio are derived. A Monte Carlo algorithm was used to assess the uncertainties on the optical parameters, and to evaluate lidar inversion methods.