Adaptive inversion algorithm for 1.5μm visibility lidar incorporating in situ Angstrom wavelength exponent

Abstract An eye-safe 1 . 5 μ m visibility lidar is presented in this work considering in situ particle size distribution, which can be deployed in crowded places like airports. In such a case, the measured extinction coefficient at 1 . 5 μ m should be converted to that at 0 . 55 μ m for visibility retrieval. Although several models have been established since 1962, the accurate wavelength conversion remains a challenge. An adaptive inversion algorithm for 1 . 5 μ m visibility lidar is proposed and demonstrated by using the in situ Angstrom wavelength exponent, which is derived from an aerosol spectrometer. The impact of the particle size distribution of atmospheric aerosols and the Rayleigh backscattering of atmospheric molecules are taken into account. Using the 1 . 5 μ m visibility lidar, the visibility with a temporal resolution of 5 min is detected over 48 h in Hefei ( 31 . 83 ∘ N , 117 . 25 ∘ E ). The average visibility error between the new method and a visibility sensor (Vaisala, PWD52) is 5.2% with the R-square value of 0.96, while the relative error between another reference visibility lidar at 532 nm and the visibility sensor is 6.7% with the R-square value of 0.91. All results agree with each other well, demonstrating the accuracy and stability of the algorithm.