the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 28 Oct 2025
Laser-induced fluorescence lidar detection of weak biomass burning aerosols at Nanping, South China
Abstract. South China, a densely populated region frequently affected by transported biomass burning aerosols (BBA), is in need of sensitive remote sensing observations to characterize these plumes. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) lidar is powerful tool for detecting fluorescence aerosols and has recently been demonstrated to identify transported BBA over Europe, while its applications in South China remain scarce. Here, we present LIF lidar observations of fluorescent aerosols conducted at Nanping, South China. The detected fluorescence layer exhibited relatively weak intensity (maximum fluorescence backscatter coefficient ≈ 0.16×10−5 Mm−1 Sr−1 nm−1), more than two orders of magnitude lower than the N2 Raman backscatter signal. Nevertheless, it showed a distinct spectral signature compared with typical urban aerosols. By integrating multi-source datasets, the fluorescence layer was attributed to long-range transported BBA originating from weak fire activity in the Indo-China Peninsula (ICP). Furthermore, the concurrent presence of BBA and enhanced water vapor indicated a humid environment favorable for aerosol processing. This study demonstrates that multi-channel LIF lidar provides a sensitive and promising approach for detecting and characterizing BBA layers over South China, thereby offering new insights into their transport mechanisms and potential environmental impacts.
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Notice on discussion status
The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.
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Preprint
(5259 KB)
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.
- Preprint
(5259 KB) - Metadata XML
- BibTeX
- EndNote
- Final revised paper
Journal article(s) based on this preprint
Interactive discussion
Status: closed
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RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-4436', Anonymous Referee #2, 18 Nov 2025
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AC2: 'Reply on RC1', Zhekai Li, 14 Jan 2026
The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4436/egusphere-2025-4436-AC2-supplement.pdf
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AC2: 'Reply on RC1', Zhekai Li, 14 Jan 2026
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RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-4436', Anonymous Referee #3, 24 Dec 2025
General comment:
This study analyzes four cases of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) lidar observations in South China. In Case 1, a pronounced fluorescence layer is detected and attributed to biomass burning aerosols (BBA) transported from the Indo-China Peninsula, based on HYSPLIT backward trajectories and other supporting datasets.
LIF lidar has been demonstrated as an effective tool for detecting BBA in Europe, but applications in South China remain limited. Deploying this technique in a region frequently impacted by Southeast Asian biomass burning smoke is therefore timely and valuable. The manuscript helps fill an observational gap and provides useful insights into BBA characteristics and transport pathways.
Overall, the manuscript provides considerable evidence to support its conclusions, but the structure of Section 4 should be revised to align with the logical flow of evidence. Additionally, future perspectives should be added to the Conclusion section to provide useful references for the follow-up studies. Please refer to the specific comments below for details.
 Specific comments:
- Line 31: ‘the’ should be deleted as no specific system is referred to.
- Lines 30-35: Besides atmospheric observations, LIF lidar has been applied in a range of other remote sensing applications, including aquatic oil spill detection and chlorophyll fluorescence monitoring. Adding a short discussion of these applications in the Introduction may help highlight the broader applicability of LIF lidar.
- Line 39: To be clear, ‘weaker cases’ should be revised to ‘weaker fire cases’.
- Line 45: Please provide a brief overview of the section contents at the end of the Introduction.
- Line 59: ‘BBA layer’ should be revised to ‘fluorescent layer’, as the fluorescence attribution is presented in Section 4.
- Lines 143-144: Please consider moving the sentence pertaining to spectral characteristics to Section 4.2, as it focuses on spectral analysis.
- Line 145: Similarly, as the spectra are a key piece of evidence for characterizing urban aerosols, the corresponding conclusion should also be moved to Section 4.2.
- Lines 149-150: As already mentioned in the general comment, the conclusion of BBA characterization is premature to present here. It should be presented in Section 4.3.
- Lines 160-162: Please specify only the precise height ranges to avoid confusion.
- Lines 202-205: The consideration of the influence from high altitudes to low altitudes is noteworthy, but the discussion is insufficient based solely on two weak spectra. Therefore, the authors are advised to remove the relevant descriptions and focus instead on the implications for future research.
- Line 213: "was originated" should be revised to "originated".
- Lines 213-217: Please reorder the sentences for clearer logic. The description should specify that onshore flow introduces the potential for mixing between marine aerosols and BBA.
- Conclusion: As noted in the general comments, it is recommended to add a brief discussion of future research prospects at the end of the Conclusion to better outline potential directions for subsequent studies.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4436-RC2 -
AC1: 'Reply on RC2', Zhekai Li, 14 Jan 2026
The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4436/egusphere-2025-4436-AC1-supplement.pdf
Interactive discussion
Status: closed
-
RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-4436', Anonymous Referee #2, 18 Nov 2025
Please refer to the comments in the supplement.
-
AC2: 'Reply on RC1', Zhekai Li, 14 Jan 2026
The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4436/egusphere-2025-4436-AC2-supplement.pdf
-
AC2: 'Reply on RC1', Zhekai Li, 14 Jan 2026
-
RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-4436', Anonymous Referee #3, 24 Dec 2025
General comment:
This study analyzes four cases of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) lidar observations in South China. In Case 1, a pronounced fluorescence layer is detected and attributed to biomass burning aerosols (BBA) transported from the Indo-China Peninsula, based on HYSPLIT backward trajectories and other supporting datasets.
LIF lidar has been demonstrated as an effective tool for detecting BBA in Europe, but applications in South China remain limited. Deploying this technique in a region frequently impacted by Southeast Asian biomass burning smoke is therefore timely and valuable. The manuscript helps fill an observational gap and provides useful insights into BBA characteristics and transport pathways.
Overall, the manuscript provides considerable evidence to support its conclusions, but the structure of Section 4 should be revised to align with the logical flow of evidence. Additionally, future perspectives should be added to the Conclusion section to provide useful references for the follow-up studies. Please refer to the specific comments below for details.
 Specific comments:
- Line 31: ‘the’ should be deleted as no specific system is referred to.
- Lines 30-35: Besides atmospheric observations, LIF lidar has been applied in a range of other remote sensing applications, including aquatic oil spill detection and chlorophyll fluorescence monitoring. Adding a short discussion of these applications in the Introduction may help highlight the broader applicability of LIF lidar.
- Line 39: To be clear, ‘weaker cases’ should be revised to ‘weaker fire cases’.
- Line 45: Please provide a brief overview of the section contents at the end of the Introduction.
- Line 59: ‘BBA layer’ should be revised to ‘fluorescent layer’, as the fluorescence attribution is presented in Section 4.
- Lines 143-144: Please consider moving the sentence pertaining to spectral characteristics to Section 4.2, as it focuses on spectral analysis.
- Line 145: Similarly, as the spectra are a key piece of evidence for characterizing urban aerosols, the corresponding conclusion should also be moved to Section 4.2.
- Lines 149-150: As already mentioned in the general comment, the conclusion of BBA characterization is premature to present here. It should be presented in Section 4.3.
- Lines 160-162: Please specify only the precise height ranges to avoid confusion.
- Lines 202-205: The consideration of the influence from high altitudes to low altitudes is noteworthy, but the discussion is insufficient based solely on two weak spectra. Therefore, the authors are advised to remove the relevant descriptions and focus instead on the implications for future research.
- Line 213: "was originated" should be revised to "originated".
- Lines 213-217: Please reorder the sentences for clearer logic. The description should specify that onshore flow introduces the potential for mixing between marine aerosols and BBA.
- Conclusion: As noted in the general comments, it is recommended to add a brief discussion of future research prospects at the end of the Conclusion to better outline potential directions for subsequent studies.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4436-RC2 -
AC1: 'Reply on RC2', Zhekai Li, 14 Jan 2026
The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4436/egusphere-2025-4436-AC1-supplement.pdf
Peer review completion
Journal article(s) based on this preprint
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Zhekai Li
Dawei Tang
Saifen Yu
Jing Cai
Kenan Wu
Zhen Zhang
Jiadong Hu
Haobin Han
Yubin Wang
The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.
- Preprint
(5259 KB) - Metadata XML
Please refer to the comments in the supplement.