3D wind observations with a compact mobile lidar based on tropo- and stratospheric aerosol backscatter

Atmospheric measurement techniques, vol. 17, pp. 1665–1677

Abstract

We present the first measurements of simultaneous horizontal and vertical winds using a new lidar system developed at the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Kühlungsborn, Germany (54.12° N, 11.77° E), for the concept of Vertical And Horizontal COverage by LIdars (VAHCOLI). We describe the technical details of a multi-field-of-view (MFOV) upgrade, which allows the measurement of wind dynamics in the transition region from microscale to mesoscale (10 3 –10 4 m). The method was applied at the edge of a developing high-pressure region, covering altitudes between 3 and 25 km. Comparisons between the lidar measurements and data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) show excellent agreement for the meridional wind component along the north beam of the lidar, which is better than 0.30±0.33 m s −1 , while along the south beam, a higher deviation with -0.93±0.73 m s −1 is observed. Measurements of vertical wind show a significant underestimation of this component by ECMWF. Comparison of Aeolus winds to the lidar winds projected to the Aeolus viewing direction shows good agreement, with results better than -0.12±3.31 m s −1 . The capability of the MFOV lidar to explore small-scale asymmetries in the wind field is shown by a comparison of the north and south field of view, where we observe a wind asymmetry in the meridional winds, which is also present in ECMWF but underestimated by a factor of approximately 4.

Authors 9

1. Thorben Mense

   Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Rostock University · University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Optical Soundings and Sounding Rockets, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Rostock, 18225 Kühlungsborn, Germany​​​​​​​

2. Josef Höffner

   Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Rostock University · University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Optical Soundings and Sounding Rockets, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Rostock, 18225 Kühlungsborn, Germany​​​​​​​

3. Gerd Baumgarten

   Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Rostock University · University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Optical Soundings and Sounding Rockets, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Rostock, 18225 Kühlungsborn, Germany​​​​​​​

4. Ronald Eixmann

   Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Rostock University · University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Optical Soundings and Sounding Rockets, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Rostock, 18225 Kühlungsborn, Germany​​​​​​​

5. Jan Froh

   Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Rostock University · University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Optical Soundings and Sounding Rockets, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Rostock, 18225 Kühlungsborn, Germany​​​​​​​

6. Alsu Mauer

   Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Rostock University · University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Optical Soundings and Sounding Rockets, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Rostock, 18225 Kühlungsborn, Germany​​​​​​​

7. Alexander Munk Aachen Nonlinear Optics and Tunable Lasers Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT

   Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Nonlinear Optics and Tunable Lasers, Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, 52074 Aachen, Germany

8. Robin Wing

   Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Rostock University · University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Optical Soundings and Sounding Rockets, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Rostock, 18225 Kühlungsborn, Germany​​​​​​​

9. Franz‐Josef Lübken

   Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Rostock University · University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Optical Soundings and Sounding Rockets, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Rostock, 18225 Kühlungsborn, Germany​​​​​​​