  A compact Raman LIDAR system for remote sensing of sea and drifting ice was
developed at the Wave Research Center at the Prokhorov General Physics
Institute of the RAS. The developed system is based on a diode pumped solid
state YVO4:Nd laser combined with compact spectrograph equipped with gated
detector. The system exhibits high sensitivity and can be used for mapping or
depth profiling of different parameters within many oceanographic problems.
Light weight (~20 kg) and low power consumption (300 W) make possible to
install the device on any vehicle including unmanned aircraft or submarine
system. The Raman LIDAR presented was used for Svalbard fjords study and
analysis of different influence of the open sea and glaciers on the water
properties. Temperature, phytoplankton, and dissolved organic matter
distributions in the seawater were studied in the Ice Fjord, Van Mijen Fjord
and Rinders Fjord. Drifting ice and seawater in the Rinders Fjord were
characterized by the Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence. It was found that the
Paula Glacier strongly influences the water temperature and chlorophyll
distributions in the Van Mijen Fjord and Rinders Fjord. Possible applications
of compact LIDAR systems for express monitoring of seawater in the places with
high concentration of floating ice or near cold streams in the Arctic Ocean are
discussed
