Abstract

Attempts made to date to detect OH radicals in the atmosphere using LIF have all used excitation near 282 nm. The primary reason for using 282 nm is that the fluorescence detection is centered at 309 nm and thus the filtering requirements are simplified. However, these experiments have identified a number of interfering effects which severely limit the accuracy with which OH can be measured. Perhaps the two most serious effects for LIDAR are the artificial generation of OH, through photolysis of ozone and subsequent reaction with water vapor giving the overall reaction O₃ + H₂O + hv → OH + OH + O₂, the observation of high levels of non-resonant ("white") fluorescence especially in the dirty troposphere, and solar scatter.

© 1983 Optical Society of America