Integrating LIDAR simultaneous Photoncounting and Analog detection measurements for the analysis of Arctic Cirrus Clouds

The net radiative cooling or warming of the cirrus clouds is still considered the biggest uncertainty in the climate models, especially in the Arctic region due to a lack of measurements due to extreme environmental conditions. In this regard, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is considered one of the most efficient photoncounting techniques to measure low intensity signals but often leads to nonlinear signals at higher intensities. Nevertheless, this problem can be tackled if the Analog (AN) and Photocount (PC) signals are combined. Therefore, this study focuses firstly on the methodology adopted to obtain a single glued (AN+PC) backscattered LIDAR profile. Subsequently, the macro-physical properties, including the cloud base and top information, are obtained in this study using the Wavelet Covariance Transform (WCT) technique. This LIDAR will also contribute to the calibration and validation part of the upcoming EarthCARE (2024) mission.