Detection and characterization of biodeteriogens on stone cultural heritage by fluorescence lidar

Biodeteriogens are an important cause of the weathering of a monument, particularly those made of stone, and their detection at an early stage of development helps to protect the monument from deterioration. Frequent mapping of biodeteriogen accumulation is therefore highly necessary. The use of fluorescence lidar for this purpose was introduced in 1995 and has been developed in subsequent years. Three main aspects emerged during this research: the possibility of discriminating between different biodeteriogen strains, the minimum detectable quantity of biodeteriogens, and the control of the efficiency of biocide treatments. We describe the results of a laboratory experiment devoted to clarifying these three aspects of biodeteriogen monitoring by means of fluorescence lidar.