Aerosol sounding with a lidar system based on a DF laser

These are the first experimental data obtained with a mobile aerosol lidar system based on a multiwavelength DF laser (lambda=3.6-4.2 mu m). The use of a polychromator and 10-channel recording system allowed us to determine the spectrum of aerosol backscattering by using only a single pulse of sounding laser radiation. The backscattering signals have been obtained from simulated aerosol clouds of different substances at a distance of 0.7 km. The obtained data confirm the applicability of aerosol backscattering spectra for recognition of aerosol impurities in the atmosphere. Satisfactory agreement between the measured and theoretically predicted spectral behavior of backscattering was attained under the assumption that our aerosol particles had been coated with a water layer 10 mu m thick.