Application of the polarization Raman Mie lidar system to monitor the particulate matter and water vapor in the aerosol pollution and haze episodes

To monitor the temporal and spatial characteristics of particulate matter and water vapor in the aerosol pollution and haze episodes, the polarization Raman Mie lidar system has been developed. The lidar system includes four detection channels and it can measure the extinction coefficient and depolarization ratio of particulate matter as well as water vapor mixing ratio. The extinction coefficient indicates the visibility of atmosphere and it associates with the concentration of particulate matter. The depolarization ratio demonstrates the nonsphericity of particulate matter and is useful to distinguish the dust and pollution aerosol. The water vapor mixing ratio denotes the content of water vapor in the air and it is an important factor to influence of the hygroscopic growth on the pollution aerosol. The lidar system can operate in the automatic and continuous modes through a window on the roof of the observation room regards of the weather, and it takes continuous measurement from 20 November 2013 to 6 February 2014 over Hefei, China. During the experiment, the typical results of particulate matter measured with lidar in clear air, aerosol pollution and haze, and dust episodes are analyzed and given. The lidar observations are also compared with the air quality data and the meteorological data on the ground.