A Ship-borne Lidar System for Measurement of Ocean Chlorophyll Profiles

Abstract

A ship-borne fluorescence lidar system with a UV laser of 355 nm wavelength is developed, aimed at the measurement of three-dimensional distribution of phytoplankton in the ocean. In the test observation, a solid fluorescent substance in the clear water of 34-m depth was successfully detected. In addition, ocean water has been observed in Sagami Bay, Japan from a moving ship at a speed of 10 knots. As first results of this system, we got the averaged lidar signal down to the depth of 20-m.