Imaging of atmospheric dispersion processes with Differential Absorption Lidar

Abstract

We consider the inverse problem of fitting atmospheric dispersion parameters based on time-resolved back-scattered differential absorption Lidar (DIAL) measurements. The obvious advantage of light-based remote sensing modalities is their extended spatial range which makes them less sensitive to strictly local perturbations/modelling errors or the distance to the plume source. In contrast to other state-of-the-art DIAL methods, we do not make a single scattering assumption but rather propose a new type modality which includes the collection of multiply scattered photons from wider/multiple fields-of-view and argue that this data, paired with a time dependent radiative transfer model, is beneficial for the reconstruction of certain image features. The resulting inverse problem is solved by means of a semi-parametric approach in which the image is reduced to a small number of dispersion related parameters and high-dimensional but computationally convenient nuisance component. This not only allows us to effectively avoid a high-dimensional inverse problem but simultaneously provides a natural regularisation mechanism along with parameters which are directly related to the dispersion model. These can be associated with meaningful physical units while spatial concentration profiles can be obtained by means of forward evaluation of the dispersion process.