Remote Sensing of Arctic Ocean by Compact Raman LIDAR

Compact Raman LIDAR system for remote sensing of sea and drifting ice was developed in Wave Research Center at Prokhorov General Physics Institute of RAS. Diode pumped solid state laser (532 nm, 5 ns, 200 mu J/pulse, 1 kHz) in combination with grating spectrograph equipped with gated detector (ICCD) resulted in high sensitive detection with wide spectral range. Light weight (similar to 20 kg), small dimensions and low power consumption (similar to 300 W) make it possible to install such system on any vehicle including unmanned aircraft system. Drifting ice and sea water in Rindersfjord was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence. Temperature, phytoplankton concentration and dissolved organic matter (DOM) of sea water were detected in Icefjord, Van Mijenfjord and Rindersfjord. These fjords are good examples of different influence of Greenland Sea and glaciers on water mass transfer and temperature distribution. It was found that Paulabreen glacier strongly influence on water mass transfer and temperature in Rindersfjord. Surface water temperature decreased for more than 3 degree while arriving to glacier front at Rindersfjord. Abnormal temperature gradient of surface water near Akseloya Island was observed. The possible mechanism of this phenomenon is discussed. Influence of relict melted water from Paulsbreen glacier on chlorophyll and DOM distribution in fjord was estimated. Possible applications of compact LIDAR systems for express monitoring of sea water in places with high concentration of icebergs or near ice streams in Arctic Ocean are discussed.