Demonstration of a combined differential absorption and high spectral resolution lidar for profiling atmospheric temperature

This work presents the first demonstration of atmospheric temperature measurement using the differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique. While DIAL is routinely used to measure atmospheric gases such as ozone and water vapor, almost no success has been found in using DIAL to measure atmospheric temperature. Attempts to measure temperature using a well-mixed gas like oxygen (O₂) have largely failed based on a need for quantitative ancillary measurements of water vapor and atmospheric aerosols. Here, a lidar is described and demonstrated that simultaneously measures O₂ absorption, water vapor number density, and aerosol backscatter ratio. This combination of measurements allows for the first measurements of atmospheric temperature with useful accuracy. DIAL temperature measurements are presented to an altitude of 4 km with 225 m and 30 min resolution with accuracy better than 3 K. DIAL temperature data is compared to a co-located Raman lidar system and radiosondes to evaluate the system’s performance. Finally, an analysis of current performance characteristics is presented, which highlights pathways for future improvement of this proof-of-concept instrument.