A Lidar Instrument To Measure H2O And Aerosol Profiles From The NASA ER-2 Aircraft

W R Vaughan; E V Browell; W M Hall; J J Degnan; R D. Averill; J G Wells; D E Hinton; J H Goad

doi:10.1117/12.938675

6 October 1986 A Lidar Instrument To Measure H2O And Aerosol Profiles From The NASA ER-2 Aircraft

W R Vaughan, E V Browell, W M Hall, J J Degnan, R D. Averill, J G Wells, D E Hinton, J H Goad

Proceedings Volume 0663, Laser Radar Technology and Applications I; (1986) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.938675
Event: 1986 Quebec Symposium, 1986, Quebec City, Canada

Abstract

The ability of lidar to measure vertical profiles of water vapor using the Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) technique has been demonstrated for several years using ground- 3Fasedi- ana airborne experiments. 4,5 Tunable dye laser transmitters have been used with real-time experimenter control in tuning of the laser wavelength to locate and lock onto the atmospheric absorption spectrum lines for DIAL measurements. The LIDAR Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) program is the first step in the overall NASA effort to develop and demonstrate an autonomous tunable DIAL laser instrument for airborne and spaceborne flight experiments. Performance criteria of a DIAL instrument to measure water vapor and aerosol vertical profiles in the atmosphere have been defined through extensive development of mathematical simulations. One of the objectives of the LASE program is to verify and validate these mathematical simulations, and conduct scientific investigations of lower tropospheric water vapor and aerosols on a broad spatial scale. In this paper, plans to develop an instrument to conduct scientific experiments aboard a NASA U-2 (ER-2) aircraft will be presented. The scope of the instrument development is to design a modular instrument, to measure water vapor and aerosol in the atmosphere with a fine vertical resolution, ranging from 0 to 17 km altitude during daytime and nighttime. Design of the LASE instrument will be discussed including performance criteria for the laser transmitter, wavemeter, telescope, optical receiver and associated electronics. Two tunable Alexandrite lasers will be used as the laser sources in the LASE instrument. The modular design is intended to permit future experiments to be performed with new laser technology as it evolves from the laboratory stage. Ultimately, experimental data from the LASE program will be processed by the Experiment Scientist and made available to the scientific community for further interpretation.

Citation Download Citation

W R Vaughan, E V Browell, W M Hall, J J Degnan, R D. Averill, J G Wells, D E Hinton, and J H Goad "A Lidar Instrument To Measure H2O And Aerosol Profiles From The NASA ER-2 Aircraft", Proc. SPIE 0663, Laser Radar Technology and Applications I, (6 October 1986); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.938675

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