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IRF lidar

A lidar for aerosol and ozone studies in the troposphere/lower stratosphere was funded by the Swedish Natural Science Research Council, NFR (Naturvetenskapliga forskningsrådet), in 2000.

Lidar is a technique for making measurements of the atmosphere from the ground. The instrument for lidar measurements consists of two parts, an emitter and a receiver. The emitter sends laser pulses into the atmosphere. There the laser light gets scattered by particles and molecules, partly also backwards to the lidar. There the receiver detects the light which was scattered backwards. Since the speed of light is constant, the time between the emission of the laser pulse and detection at the receiver tells us at which height the light was scattered. Changes in intensity can reveal clouds which are invisible for the eye (but important for climate research).

lidar at IRF
Lidar in operation at IRF
lidar beam
After emission from the laser (right) the beam is expanded (center) to reduce divergence, before being deflected into the atmosphere (left).

Some examples for lidar data

An article on lidar observations at IRF was published in NordicSpace in 2010: http://www.nordicspace.net/PDF/NSA252.pdf (PDF file, 1.4 MB)

For further information contact: Peter Völger


Latest update: Webmaster*irf.se, 2011-07-25.