New lidar systems at the German Aerospace Center

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Abstract

This work gives an overview of the lower-, middle and upper atmosphere lidar projects at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The Temperature Lidar for Middle Atmosphere research (TELMA) is a combined sodium/Rayleigh/Brillouin-lidar integrated into an 8-foot container. It will provide temperature profiles with high temporal and spatial resolution from near ground level up to approximately 110 km altitude. The lidar system is designed for remote/autonomous operation. First observations with the Rayleigh-lidar were carried out during the DEEPWAVE campaign in New Zealand in 2014. The CORAL (Compact Rayleigh Autonomous Lidar) instrument is derived from an upgraded version of the Rayleigh-lidar originally developed for the TELMA project. It is also integrated into an 8-foot container and features an improved software package for autonomous operation. Making use of extensive self-monitoring and fault protection algorithms, no human intervention is needed to initiate start-up of the lidar, monitoring of system parameters, or shutdown of the lidar. These capabilities make CORAL the first instrument of a new class of truly automatic mesospheric lidar systems. CORAL and TELMA serve as prototypes and technology testbeds for ALIMA, the Airborne Lidar for studying the Middle Atmosphere. ALIMA makes use of a novel laser to generate the large output power required for very high resolution measurements of temperature, vertical wind and iron density at 372 nm wavelength. The lidar system will be able to resolve horizontal wavelengths down to 10 km during flight. Used as ground-based instrument, ALIMA will enable momentum flux measurements with unprecedented precision. First flight of ALIMA on the DLR Falcon aircraft is planned for 2017.

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• New lidar systems at the German Aerospace Center. (deposited 23 Jun 2015 11:41) [Currently Displayed]