Investigation of the EPS-Aeolus performance with end-to-end simulations

Abstract

Based on the success of the first wind lidar in space, the Earth Explorer mission Aeolus by the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and ESA are together developing the follow-on mission EPS-Aeolus planned to be launched in 2034. With substantial improvements in instrument design - such as a bi-static optical design, more powerful laser, and enhanced detector technology - EPS-Aeolus aims to achieve a higher vertical and horizontal resolution, to extend wind measurement coverage into the stratosphere, and deliver more accurate wind measurements with smaller random error. To support the developments of the EPS-Aeolus mission, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) conducts performance simulations within the EUMETSAT-funded project "Doppler Wind Lidar Instrument Simulator Study". The End-to-End Simulator (E2S), originally developed for the Aeolus mission, is adapted and enhanced in the scope of the project in order to perform simulations representative of EPS-Aeolus. This study will define the necessary parameter updates of the E2S for EPS-Aeolus, e.g. the adaption of parameters to meet the mission requirements of the wind random error, the extended vertical coverage up to 40 km or the increased number of range bins from 24 to 66. Comparisons between performance simulations of Aeolus and EPS-Aeolus will be shown to highlight the improvements and the impact of the higher orbit altitude. Furthermore, the study will show results of performance simulations of EPS-Aeolus using a reference atmosphere, e.g. the U.S. standard atmosphere, or an atmosphere based on numerical weather predication (NWP). The comparisons include an assessment of the Rayleigh and Mie signals, and wind random errors.