Study of atmospheric aerosols over the central Himalayan region using a newly developed Mie light detection and ranging system: preliminary results

A LIDAR system to receive Mie backscattered photons has been developed at the Manora peak, Nainital, India and it is the first of its kind in the central Himalayan region. The system is sensitive to receive backscattered photons from heights up to similar to 20 km (above ground level). The atmospheric extinction profiles using Mie LIDAR have been estimated for the first time at this site in January (winter) and March (spring) seasons in three campaigns and maximum values are found to be similar to 0.01, 0.03, and 0.08 km(-1), respectively. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) values are found to be similar to 0.051, 0.098, and 0.233 in three campaigns, respectively, showing enhancement from January (winter) to March (spring) indicating a seasonal variation. AOD values of LIDAR, aerosol robotic network, and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer were found within the standard deviations. The aerosol loading at the site has increased during the last decade as evident from previous studies. (C) 2011 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI:10.1117/1.3579158]