The need for high resolution spatial and temporal measurements of tropospheric ozone is discussed. Tropospheric ozone is globally increasing due to anthropogenic sources such as industrialization and biomass burning. In addition to its hazardous effects during pollution episodes, elevated levels of tropospheric ozone may have additional detrimental environmental effects due to ozone's crucial role in tropospheric chemistry and in global climate. Ground-based lidar instruments can play an important role in meeting this measurement need. We present test results for a prototype compact, minimal-cost ozone lidar. The instrument is designed to be as reliable and simple as possible but still be capable of routinely measuring ozone profiles with less than 10% relative error from the ground up into the lower stratosphere. In addition to local pollution monitoring, this lidar satisfies the basic requirements necessary for future global monitoring projects requiring multi-instrument networks, such as that proposed for the Global Tropospheric Ozone Project (GTOP). GTOP is currently being formulated by a scientific panel of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project to meet its goal to better understand the processes that control the global sources, sinks, and transformation mechanisms of tropospheric ozone.

Date Published: 21 December 1999
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 3853, Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technologies II, (21 December 1999); doi: 10.1117/12.372844

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3853:
Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technologies II
Tuan Vo-Dinh; Robert L. Spellicy, Editor(s)