Path lidar for measuring the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere

The paper describes a lidar for performing path-averaged measurements of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. The instrument operates at wavelengths of 298.0 nm, 299.5 nm, and 300.1 nm, corresponding respectively to two neighboring absorption maxima and the intermediate minimum. The block diagram of the instrument is presented, and SO2 concentration on a path is studied as a function of time of day. It is shown that the sensitivity of the instrument is 1.2 x 10 to the -7th moles/cu m for a path length of 1000 m. The measurement error is evaluated.