Three-wavelength dual differential absorption lidar method for stratospheric ozone measurements in the presence of volcanic aerosols

We present a three-wavelength dual differential absorption lidar (dual-DIAL) method with which one can obtain an accurate stratospheric ozone profile in the presence of volcanic aerosols. Results of theoretical analysis and comparisons with conventional DIAL and backscatter correction methods show that the three-wavelength dual-DIAL method greatly reduces the effect of volcanic aerosol on stratospheric ozone measurements, and system errors that are due to aerosols are kept at a low level. In addition this method is almost completely insensitive to wavelength dependence of aerosol backscatter, its spatial change, and spatial inhomogeneity of aerosol loading. Therefore, one does not need to know detailed information about these aerosol properties, and accurate stratospheric ozone profiles can be obtained directly from lidar return signals. An example of the experimental result indicates that the proposed method is effective.