Dual-channel infrared OPO lidar optical system for remote sensing of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere: design and characteristics

Current global warming and climate change under the greenhouse effect call for a thorough understanding of the spatial distribution of greenhouse gases in different atmospheric layers. Lidar systems are the most effective for remote greenhouse gas monitoring. We design a two-channel infrared OPO lidar optical system for remote DIAL/DOAS sensing of carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere. In this work, optimal geometric parameters of the transceiving channel of the lidar optical system are chosen, a need to focus laser radiation at a distance of 1 km from an observation point is demonstrated, and numerical simulations confirm the possibility of detecting lidar signals ranging from 10−7 to 10−10 W in the informative spectral range 4800–5100 cm−1 (1960–2083 nm). Laboratory experiments with the main components of the lidar system with experimentally confirmed parameters, which simulate atmospheric measurements of CO2 absorption at a calibrated sensing wavelength of 2005 nm (4987 cm−1) (pressure of 1 atm; CO2 concentration corresponding to the midlatitude summer background atmosphere) in the informative spectral range of the lidar system, enable selecting a pair of wavelengths with resonant absorption of the target gas near 2005 nm to study the background state of the atmosphere in the surface layer. Efficiency of the lidar optical system is confirmed by in situ test experiments, where backscattering signals from a topographic target with an albedo of ∼0.15 spaced 168 m apart from an observer are recorded at 60 mV when operating along a horizontal atmospheric path. The lidar system we design can be used in measuring complexes at carbon test sites. It can also be used for atmospheric monitoring in industrial centers, at background measuring stations, and in swamp areas.