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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Earth System Research Laboratory/Chemical Sciences Division (NOAA/ESRL/CSD) has developed a versatile, airborne lidar system for measuring ozone and aerosols in the boundary layer and lower free troposphere. The Tunable Optical Profiler for Aerosol and Ozone (TOPAZ) lidar was deployed aboard a NOAA Twin Otter aircraft during the Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS 2006) and the California Research at the Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change (CalNex 2010) field campaigns. TOPAZ is capable of measuring ozone concentrations in the lower troposphere with uncertainties of several parts per billion by volume at 90-m vertical and 600-m horizontal resolution from an aircraft flying at 60 m s−1. The system also provides uncalibrated aerosol backscatter profiles at 18-m vertical and 600-m horizontal resolution. TOPAZ incorporates state-of-the-art technologies, including a cerium-doped lithium calcium aluminum fluoride (Ce:LiCAF) laser, to make it compact and lightweight with low power consumption. The tunable, three-wavelength UV laser source makes it possible to optimize the wavelengths for differing atmospheric conditions, reduce the interference from other atmospheric constituents, and implement advanced analysis techniques. This paper describes the TOPAZ lidar, its components and performance during testing and field operation, and the data analysis procedure, including a discussion of error sources. The performance characteristics are illustrated through a comparison between TOPAZ and an ozonesonde launched during the TexAQS 2006 field campaign. A more comprehensive set of comparisons with in situ measurements during TexAQS 2006 and an assessment of the TOPAZ accuracy and precision are presented in a companion paper.

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