High Spectral Resolution Lidars (HSRL)

The NASA System:

The HSRL instrument is an innovative technology that is similar to radar; however, with lidar, radio waves are replaced with laser light. Lidar allows researchers to see the vertical dimension of the atmosphere, and the advanced HSRL makes measurements that can even distinguish among different aerosol types and their sources. The HSRL technique takes advantage of the spectral distribution of the lidar return signal to discriminate aerosol and molecular signals and thereby measure aerosol extinction and backscatter independently. 
It measures aerosol backscatter and depolarization at 532, 1064 and 355 nm and aerosol extinction at 532 nm.

The NCAR/EOL System:

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) operates and maintains a High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) system that can be deployed on the National Science Foundation's Gulfstream-V (G5) aircraft or in a customized shipping container.  The Gulfstream-V High Spectral Resolution Lidar (G5-HSRL) is an eye-safe calibrated lidar system that can measure back scatter cross section, extinction and depolarization properties of atmospheric aerosols and clouds.  The HSRL can also be used to detect the presence of oriented scatters in the atmosphere and determine the full (Mueller) backscatter phase matrix.