Identifying atmospheric aerosols with polarization lidar

Abstract

A variety of types of aerosol particles, both natural and human-made, are commonly suspended in the atmosphere. Different aerosol types have characteristic shapes, but basically fall into two categories: spherical and irregular. Haze and forest fi re smoke particles are examples of the former, and desert dust and biogenic debris (e.g., pollen) of the latter. It is shown here that the capability of polarization lidar systems to sense the exact shape of particles makes it a powerful tool to remotely identify many types of aerosols. This is particularly important in the study of how aerosols may affect the properties of clouds. Keywords: Aerosol backscattering, aerosol shape, polarization lidar © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.