Quantifying the Effect of Humidity on Aerosol Scattering with a Raman Lidar

Change in the scattering properties of aerosols due to changes in humidity is a significant and important unknown quantity in the aerosol indirect effect. This paper describes an experiment in which a Raman lidar is used to measure profiles of aerosol extinction and water vapor. From these measurements, the effect of the hygroscopic growth of suburban aerosols on aerosol scattering and extinction are determined. The calculated results are compared to model computations.