Abstract

Subject of study. Atmospheric gas is analyzed utilizing a two-channel infrared lidar system. Aim of study. A lidar system is developed for measuring the content of greenhouse gases (H₂O and CO₂) in the lower troposphere utilizing two channels for detecting near-infrared laser radiation for simultaneous reconstruction of spatially resolved profiles and concentrations of the studied gases averaged along the sounding path. Method. When solving the problems considered here, differential absorption and scattering and differential optical absorption spectroscopy methods are employed. A promising approach combines the capabilities of both methods and provides simultaneous acquisition of spatially resolved profiles adopting differential absorption and scattering and spectrally resolved profiles utilizing differential optical absorption spectroscopy information on the concentration of gases in the atmosphere. Main results. The function of overlapping the receiver’s field of view and the lidar system’s laser beam is calculated, and the optimal geometric parameters of its receiving-transmitting part are determined. The informative range of carbon dioxide and water vapor sensing has been determined by numerical simulation of the transmission spectra of the atmosphere and lidar signals for various environmental conditions. Several configurations of the lidar system to generate nanosecond radiation pulses in the near-infrared spectral range are proposed. Experimental measurements of the energy and spectral characteristics of the lidar radiation source confirmed the possibility of its application for solving problems of remote sensing of measured gases. Practical significance. The results can be adopted in the development of measuring systems for monitoring the gas composition of the atmosphere in industrial centers, at background measuring stations, and in areas of marsh ecosystems.

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