DIAL Tropospheric Ozone Measurement Using a Nd:YAG Laser and the Raman Shifting Technique

International audienceThe Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) offers a way to perform ozone measurements in the troposphere with the spatial and temporal resolutions needed for both short and long term studies. Only a few DIAL system have been used up to now for this purpose, relying mainly on tunable laser sources. In this paper, a new system using a Nd:YAG laser source and Raman shifting techniques to generate several wavelengths in the ultraviolet and the visible spectral range is proposed for use in a regional ozone network and in a small or medium size aircraft. This is system has been operated in a ground-based station in southern France for nighttime ozone measurements in the free troposphere. A comparison with balloon borne Brewer-Mast ozonesonde data is presented and measurement accuracy of these two instruments is discussed