Airborne high spectral resolution lidar for profiling aerosol optical properties.
A compact, highly robust airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) that provides measurements of aerosol backscatter and extinction coefficients and aerosol depolarization at two wavelengths has been developed, tested, and deployed on nine field experiments (over 650 flight hours). A unique and advantageous design element of the HSRL system is the ability to radiometrically calibrate the instrument internally, eliminating any reliance on vicarious calibration from atmospheric targets for which aerosol loading must be estimated. This paper discusses the design of the airborne HSRL, the internal calibration and accuracy of the instrument, data products produced, and observations and calibration data from the first two field missions: the Joint Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment--Phase B (INTEX-B)/Megacity Aerosol Experiment--Mexico City (MAX-Mex)/Megacities Impacts on Regional and Global Environment (MILAGRO) field mission (hereafter MILAGRO) and the Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study/Texas Air Quality Study II (hereafter GoMACCS/TexAQS II).
Hair
Johnathan W
JW
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, 23681, USA. johnathan.w.hair@nasa.gov
Hostetler
Chris A
CA
Cook
Anthony L
AL
Harper
David B
DB
Ferrare
Richard A
RA
Mack
Terry L
TL
Welch
Wayne
W
Isquierdo
Luis Ramos
LR
Hovis
Floyd E
FE