Airborne compact rotational Raman lidar for temperature measurement

Area of Science:

• Atmospheric Science
• Remote Sensing
• Lidar Technology

Background:

• Accurate atmospheric temperature data is crucial for understanding weather phenomena.
• Previous airborne temperature measurement techniques had limitations in spatial resolution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an airborne compact rotational Raman lidar (CRL) for 2D temperature mapping.
• To assess the performance of the CRL during the PECAN campaign.

Main Methods:

• Development of an airborne compact rotational Raman lidar (CRL) system.
• Deployment on the University of Wyoming King Air (UWKA) aircraft.
• Data collection and analysis during the PECAN campaign, comparing CRL data with radiosonde measurements.

Main Results:

• The CRL successfully obtained fine-scale 2D temperature distributions within 3 km below the aircraft.
• Nighttime temperature measurements showed a random error of less than 0.5 K within 800 m below the aircraft.
• CRL-derived temperatures showed good agreement with radiosonde data.

Conclusions:

• The airborne CRL is a valuable tool for obtaining high-resolution 2D atmospheric temperature data.
• The CRL provides critical parameters for atmospheric research, complementing water vapor and aerosol measurements.
• This technology enables new insights into the lower atmosphere's state.