Use of statistical and polarization characteristics of lidar signals in investigations of PBL

The observation of the processes taking plase in the entire planetary boundary layer of the atmosphere in the case of stable stratification and during the development of a convective boundary layer correspond throughly to the capabilities of a scanning aerosol lidar (SAL) and polarization aerosol lidar (PAL). Recently methods are used allowing automated determination of the maxing layer height, e.g., through the first derivateve of the signal, the maximum of its standard deviation, in certain cases through the depolarization ratio (δ) of the signal, etc.