Optical characteristics of the stratosphere after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption as assessed from spectral polarization lidar measurements

International audienceSome results of experimental investigations using method of spectral polarization laser sensing of the stratospheric aerosol layer (SAL) after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo volcano are given. Time dependence of the optical depth at 532 nm is analyzed. Scattering ratio profiles, the profiles of aerosol backscattering depolarization ratio as well as the results of lidar observations of the stratosphere at 532 and 1064 nm are presented. Some peculiarities in the formation of microphysical parameters of SAL due to Mt. Pinatubo eruption are discussed

Two-wavelength lidar measurement technique and data on stratospheric aerosol optical parameters

International audienceSince Mt. Pinatubo eruption, regular lidar sounding of the stratospheric aerosol layer has been carried out at the Institute of Physics, Belarus Academy of Sciences (Minsk, 53.85 °N, 27.5 °E) by means of a two-wavelength polarization lidar. The technique and results of the laser sounding of the stratospheric aerosol are presented in this paper

Study of aerosol pollution of the atmosphere over an industrial region using lidars

International audienceWe discuss here the methodology of using lidar stations for ecological monitoring of air over an industrial center. The city of Soligorsk, Belorussia, has been taken as an example. The lidars were used to identify the sources of dust emissions, to map the dust mass concentration, and to estimate the rate of dust sedimentation. The lidar data obtained, enabled us to estimate the rates of dust emissions coming from industrial enterprises, as a whole, and from their individual technological installations. Contributions from such distributed pollution sources as dumps, construction sites and others are evaluated. The entire bulk of thus compiled information has been used to construct a mathematical model of the aerosol pollution transport in the region under study. The input parameters to this model are the rates of dust emissions measured and meteorological quantities. Calculated values of the aerosol concentration in the near-ground layer and the rate of aerosol sedimentation have been compared with the data of observations. The model is available as a computer codes and may be used for numerically predicting the level of atmospheric pollution. The forecast may be produced with the account for different meteorological situations and varying intensity of the production process