Modeling and measurements using polarimetric lidar (Conference Presentation)

A combination of experimental lidar results and shape-dependent scatter amplitude matrix calculations are used to explore the utility of polarimetric lidars for aerosol characterization. Solutions are developed for the induced polarization vector response of skewed spheroidal particles and the scatter is then computed using an improved anomalous diffraction approximation method. Experimental data was collected on biological simulant, chemical simulant, and interferent aerosol clouds using a 1047 nm micropulse lidar designed to measure the simultaneous depolarization using a linearly polarized source. Depolarization signatures obtained during testing show a clear difference between wet and dry biological simulant aerosols, wet chemical simulant releases, and some interferents. Combining these measurements with the shape-dependent model calculations help us understand the unique polarimetric signatures that may be exploited for aerosol characterization using stand-off lidar techniques.