LONG-RANGE DOPPLER WIND LIDAR
The RAPCD laboratory houses a 2 micron LOng-Range Doppler Wind Lidar (LORDWL) that operates at 50 mJ per pulse and a pulse repetition frequency of 6.7 Hz. The LORDWL facility is a joint project between UAH and NASA MSFC. The lidar transceiver was originally built for MSFC in the 1990’s. The US Air Force hardened the transceiver for airborne operations in a ballistic winds field program, and returned the system to MSFC, where it obtained the first Doppler lidar measurements of water surface velocity on natural and artificial river surfaces. The LORDWL transceiver was later installed in the new RAPCD facility, and integrated with a two-axis hemispheric scanner, on long-term loan from Simpson Weather Associates (http://www.swa.com/default.asp). The original scanner mirrors have been replaced by new mirrors optimized for the 2 micron operating wavelength. Offline signal processing speed is being upgraded to increase throughput. The recommissioned LORDWL can measure corregistered radial winds and aerosol backscatter in clear air at ranges up to 10 km (depending on atmospheric conditions), and at cloud edges over longer ranges. This measurement capability enables new UAH research on winds and aerosols in the atmospheric boundary layer. These resources also enhance ATS graduate courses on atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric remote sensing.
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