Camera Lidar Observations of Aerosols and Comparisons with Aerosol Optical Depth

^(a) Central Connecticut State University Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, CT 06050 U.S.A.
^(b) University of the Bahamas Department of Physical and Earth Sciences, University Drive, Nassau, The Bahamas
^(c) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Global Monitoring Laboratory 325 Broadway R/GML, Boulder CO 80305-3328 U.S.A.
^(d) University of the Bahamas School of Chemistry Environment and Life Sciences, University Drive, Nassau, The Bahamas Nimmi Sharma e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published online: 9 April 2026

Abstract

A bistatic atmospheric camera lidar system consisting of a vertically transmitted continuous wave laser and a distantly located CCD camera detector is used to observe atmospheric aerosols by measuring the nighttime laser light scattering. The detector, consisting of a CCD camera fitted with wide angle optics and a laser line filter, images the entire transmitted laser beam from the side. The brightness at each pixel provides the side-scattered signal, and the altitude of the scatterer is determined from geometry rather than timing. As with traditional lidar, the signal is normalized to a molecular model at high altitudes and is transmission corrected. Side-scatter is converted to total scatter using an aerosol scattering phase function derived from AERONET data at the nearest available AERONET site. Aerosol extinction is calculated and integrated to derive aerosol optical depth. Results are compared to NASA MERRA2 and AERONET aerosol optical depth data.