Recent lidar technology developments and their influence on measurements of tropospheric water vapor

In this paper the influences of recent technology developments in the areas of lasers, detectors, andoptical filters of a differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system on the measurenent of tropospheric water vapor (H2O) profiles are discussed. The lidar parameters selected are based upon a diode-seeded Ti:sapphire laser that is locked to an H2O line in the 820- or 930-nm band of H2O. To assess the influence of the mode of deployment on the measurement of tropospheric H2O, DIAL performance is evaluated for operation from a medium-altitude (12 km) aircraft, the ground, and space-based systems. It is found that incorporation of these developments could greatly enhance DIAL measurement capability.