Mie–Raman-Fluorescence lidar observations of aerosols during pollen season in the north of France

Abstract. Multiwavelength Mie–Raman–fluorescence lidar of Lille University with the capability to measure three aerosol backscattering, two extinction coefficients and three linear depolarization ratios together with the fluorescence backscattering at 466 nm was used to characterize aerosols during the pollen season in the north of France for the period March – June 2020. The results of observations demonstrate that the presence of pollen grains in aerosol mixture leads to an increase of the depolarization ratio. Moreover, the depolarization ratio exhibits a strong spectral dependence increasing with wavelength, which is expected for the mixture containing fine background aerosols with low depolarization and strongly depolarizing pollen grains. High depolarization ratio correlates with the enhancement of the fluorescence backscattering, corroborating the presence of pollen grains. Obtained results demonstrate that simultaneous measurements of particle depolarization and fluorescence allows to separate dust, smoke particles and aerosol mixtures containing the pollen grains.