Measurement of Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Column Concentrations to Cloud Tops with a Pulsed Multi-wavelength Airborne Lidar

Abstract. We have measured the column-averaged atmospheric CO2 mixing ratio to a variety of cloud tops by using an airborne pulsed multiple wavelengths integrated-path, differential absorption (IPDA) lidar. Airborne measurements were made at altitudes up to 13 km during the 2011, 2013 and 2014 ASCENDS science campaigns flown in the west and mid-west United States and were compared to those from an in situ sensor. Analysis of the lidar backscatter profiles show the average cloud top reflectance was ~ 5 % for the CO2 measurement at 1572.335 nm except to cirrus clouds which had lower reflectance. The energies for 1-μs wide laser pulses reflected from cloud tops were sufficient to allow clear identification of CO2 absorption line shape and then to allow retrievals of atmospheric column CO2 from the aircraft to cloud tops more than 90 % of the time. Retrievals from the CO2 measurements to cloud tops had minimal bias but larger standard deviations when compared to those made to the ground, depending on cloud top roughness and reflectance. The measurements show this new capability helps resolve CO2 horizontal and vertical gradients in the atmosphere. When used with nearby full column measurements to ground, the CO2 measurements to cloud tops can be used to estimate the partial column CO2 concentration below clouds, which should lead to better estimates of surface carbon sources and sinks. This additional capability of the range-resolved CO2 IPDA lidar technique provides a new benefit for studying the carbon cycle in future airborne and space-based CO2 missions.