Lidar Observations in South America. Part I - Mesosphere and Stratosphere

South America covers a large area of the globe and plays a fundamental function in its climate change, geographical features, and natural resources. However, it still is a developing area, and natural resource management and energy production are far from a sustainable framework, impacting the air quality of the area and needs much improvement in monitoring. There are significant activities regarding laser remote sensing of the atmosphere at different levels for different purposes. Among these activities, we can mention the mesospheric probing of sodium measurements and stratospheric monitoring of ozone, and the study of wind and gravity waves. Some of these activities are long-lasting and count on the support from the Latin American Lidar Network (LALINET). We intend to pinpoint the most significant scientific achievements and show the potential of carrying out remote sensing activities in the continent and show its correlations with other earth science connections and synergies. In Part I of this chapter, we will present an overview and significant results of lidar observations in the mesosphere and stratosphere. Part II will be dedicated to tropospheric observations.

An algorithm for measuring wind speed based on sampling aerosol inhomogeneities

A digital image processing algorithm based on sampling aerosol inhomogeneities was developed in the applied problem of laser remote sensing for measuring the velocity of wind. Tests of the developed algorithm were conducted for synthetic data from numerical simulations and data measured by a lidar. The algorithm developed performs processing of the field of aerosol backscattering coefficient in “RangeTime” coordinates and sufficiently increases the measurement accuracy in comparison with correlation methods.

Laser Remote Sensing Method of Carbon Monoxide Emissions Detection

Monitoring of atmospheric gas pollution is one of the most important environmental target. Laser methods are the most effective for remote operational monitoring of atmospheric pollution.One of the most important air pollutants is carbon monoxide.The article analyzes the possibility of laser remote sensing method of carbon monoxide emissions detection in atmosphere.The information parameter measured by the remote sensing laser gas analyzer was assessed for absorption band of carbon monoxide near 2,3 μm.The information parameter that can be used for monitoring monoxide emissions is the ratio of the power of laser signals at the wavelengths 4295 cm-1 and 4370 cm-1.Results of calculations of the information parameter for different sizes of emissions (from 1 m to 100 m) and different content of carbon monoxide in the emission (from 0.01 % to 10 %) were showed.Comparing the information parameter R with its background value shows that carbon monoxide emissions can be monitored.Mathematical modeling was performed for quantitative estimation the reliability of detecting carbon monoxide emissions.The probability of correctly emission detecting (emission detecting when there is one) and the probability of false alarms (emission detecting when there is none) were calculated.Mathematical modelling shows that a laser gas analyzer allows us to detect the carbon monoxide emissions with correct detection probability not less 0,845 and false alarm probability no more 0,243 for carbon monoxide emissions with gas concentration not less 0,1 % and dimension of emissions cloud not less 10 m. For carbon monoxide emissions with gas concentration not less 1 % and dimension of emissions cloud not less 5 m a laser gas analyzer allows us to detect the carbon monoxide emissions with correct detection probability not less 0,999 and false alarm probability no more 0,001.