Development of a UV laser-induced fluorescence lidar for monitoring blue-green algae in Lake Suwa.

We developed a UV (355 nm) laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) lidar for monitoring the real-time status of blue-green algae. Since the fluorescence spectrum of blue-green algae excited by 355 nm showed the specific fluorescence at 650 nm, the lidar was designed to be able to detect the 650 nm fluorescence as a surveillance method for the algae. The usefulness was confirmed by observation at Lake Suwa over four years (2005–2008). The detection limit of the LIF lidar was 16.65 mg/L for the blue-green algae, which is the range of concentrations in the safe level set by the World Health Organization.