Abstract

The problems connected with atmospheric pollutants are being more and more widely recognized. Soil and lake acidification have been long discussed while reports on widespread damage to forests are more recent. Air pollutants constitute a threat to public health both directly through inhalation and indirectly through possible long-term influences on the atmospheric environment. The need for powerful actions and international cooperation is becoming evident. Clearly, remote sensing techniques utilizing laser / optical technology provide attractive possibilities for measurements on local, regional and global scales. Source emissions, ambient air quality, atmospheric chemical transformation and long-distance transport of pollutants are all areas receiving increasing attention. Whereas point monitors can provide reasonably reliable information at a specific location, much more representative values can be obtained with remote sensing techniques, which also provide unique means to study the dynamics of the atmospheric processes. A review of the optical and laser remote sensing field is provided by e.g. Refs. 1 and 2.

© 1987 Optical Society of America