Spaceborne Aerosol and Carbon dioxide Detection Lidar (ACDL) Development and On-orbit Performance

^(a) Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 390 Qinghe Rd., Jiading, Shanghai 201800, China
^(b) University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1 Yanqihu East Rd, Huairou, Beijing 101408,China Lead Author e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published online: 9 April 2026

Abstract

Spaceborne Aerosol and Carbon dioxide Detection Lidar (ACDL) is the major payload on Atmospheric Environment Monitoring Satellite (AEMS, also named as DQ-1), which was launched on April 16^th,2022. ACDL is a novel spaceborne lidar, which integrates two lidar systems in a set of lidar setup, using a 1572 nm integrated path laser differential absorption (IPDA) method to measure the global CO₂ column concentrations (XCO2), and using a 532 nm high spectrum resolution lidar (HSRL) method to measure the vertical profiles of aerosols and clouds. The main parameters of ACDL are described. ACDL has worked 2 years, and the performance continues to be excellent. The three wavelength double-pulse laser is operating with high frequency stability. The global XCO₂ and aerosol profiles from 82° N to 82° S over land and sea in the daytime and nighttime are presented. The global XCO₂ with accuracy of better than 1 ppm was validated. Typical aerosol and clouds profiles are shown.