An ARL-1 CO2 Raman lidar system developed at AIOFM----Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, The Chinese Academy of Sciences

An ARL-1 CO2 Raman lidar system，developed by AIOFM(Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics)，passed the completion acceptance by expert committee organized by CAS on Dec. 17th. This is Chinese first Raman lidar system for atmospheric CO2 profile with independent intellectual property rights. It is capable of measuring atmospheric CO2 ranging to 2km in horizontal direction and altitude up to 3km in vertical direction, with resolution of 30m and precise within 1 to 3% in profiling CO2. This system now monitors routinely the CO2 vertical profile at AIOFM in Hefei.

Greenhouse gas emission and air pollution dramatically increase due to human activities, and has caused global climate change in recent decades. The released data by IPCC(the united nations intergovernmental panel on climate change) shows that CO2 becomes one of the most important factors in global warming. The industrial CO2 emission is highly concerned and becomes an important issue in international environment foreign affair.

Chinese government takes many activities to global climate change. In its “twelfth five-year plan”, Chinese government plans to carry out a project about carbon budget and carbon cycle studies. Development of ARL Raman lidar can provide important technical support for CO2 measurement in spatial and temporal variation.

Field test were carried out to measure atmospheric CO2. Experts believethatARL-1 Raman lidar is a useful tool to measure vertical and horizontal CO2 distribution in wide range. It can also be applied in CO2 emission source monitoring, and for CO2 source and sink measurement researches. Compared to the generally used differential absorption lidar for atmospheric CO2 measurements, CO2 Raman lidar has many advantages, such as lower cost, less technical complexities and easier operation. Therefore, this technique satisfies our country’s reality, and can be industrialized easily in China.　