Articles | Volume 18, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2149-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2149-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
16 May 2025
Research article |
| 16 May 2025
| 16 May 2025
Spectral performance analysis of the Fizeau interferometer on board ESA's Aeolus wind lidar satellite
Michael Vaughan
Optical & Lidar Associates OLA, Buckinghamshire, UK
Kevin Ridley
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Benjamin Witschas
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Oliver Lux
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Ines Nikolaus
Department of Applied Sciences and Mechatronics, University of Applied Sciences Munich, Munich, Germany
Oliver Reitebuch
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Related authors
Benjamin Witschas, Christian Lemmerz, Oliver Lux, Uwe Marksteiner, Oliver Reitebuch, Fabian Weiler, Frederic Fabre, Alain Dabas, Thomas Flament, Dorit Huber, and Michael Vaughan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1465–1489, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1465-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1465-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In August 2018, the ESA launched the first Doppler wind lidar into space. In order to calibrate the instrument and to monitor the overall instrument conditions, instrument spectral registration measurements have been performed with Aeolus on a weekly basis. Based on these measurements, the alignment drift of the Aeolus satellite instrument is estimated by applying tools and mathematical model functions to analyze the spectrometer transmission curves.
Zacharie Titus, Marine Bonazzola, Hélène Chepfer, Artem Feofilov, Marie-Laure Roussel, Benjamin Witschas, and Sophie Bastin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2065, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2065, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Aeolus spaceborne Doppler Wind Lidar observes perfectly co-located vertical profiles of clouds and vertical profiles of horizontal wind that can be used to study cloud-wind interactions. At regional scale, we show that over the Indian Ocean, high cloud fractions increase when the Tropical Easterly Jet is active. At a smaller scale, we observe for the first time from space differences in the wind profiles within the cloud and its surrounding clear sky, that can be imputed to convective motions.
Kangwen Sun, Guangyao Dai, Songhua Wu, Oliver Reitebuch, Holger Baars, Jiqiao Liu, and Suping Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4389–4409, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4389-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4389-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper investigates the correlation between marine aerosol optical properties and wind speeds over remote oceans using the spaceborne lidars ALADIN and CALIOP. Three remote ocean areas are selected. Pure marine aerosol optical properties at 355 nm are derived from ALADIN. The relationships between marine aerosol optical properties and wind speeds are analyzed within and above the marine atmospheric boundary layer, revealing the effect of wind speed on marine aerosols over remote oceans.
Maurus Borne, Peter Knippertz, Martin Weissmann, Benjamin Witschas, Cyrille Flamant, Rosimar Rios-Berrios, and Peter Veals
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 561–581, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-561-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-561-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study assesses the quality of Aeolus wind measurements over the tropical Atlantic. The results identified the accuracy and precision of the Aeolus wind measurements and the potential source of errors. For instance, the study revealed atmospheric conditions that can deteriorate the measurement quality, such as weaker laser signal in cloudy or dusty conditions, and confirmed the presence of an orbital-dependant bias. These results can help to improve the Aeolus wind measurement algorithm.
Manfred Ern, Mohamadou A. Diallo, Dina Khordakova, Isabell Krisch, Peter Preusse, Oliver Reitebuch, Jörn Ungermann, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9549–9583, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9549-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9549-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) of the stratospheric tropical winds is an important mode of climate variability but is not well reproduced in free-running climate models. We use the novel global wind observations by the Aeolus satellite and radiosondes to show that the QBO is captured well in three modern reanalyses (ERA-5, JRA-55, and MERRA-2). Good agreement is also found also between Aeolus and reanalyses for large-scale tropical wave modes in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.
Benjamin Witschas, Sonja Gisinger, Stephan Rahm, Andreas Dörnbrack, David C. Fritts, and Markus Rapp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1087–1101, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1087-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1087-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, a novel scan technique is applied to an airborne coherent Doppler wind lidar, enabling us to measure the vertical wind speed and the horizontal wind speed along flight direction simultaneously with a horizontal resolution of about 800 m and a vertical resolution of 100 m. The performed observations are valuable for gravity wave characterization as they allow us to calculate the leg-averaged momentum flux profile and, with that, the propagation direction of excited gravity waves.
Benjamin Witschas, Christian Lemmerz, Alexander Geiß, Oliver Lux, Uwe Marksteiner, Stephan Rahm, Oliver Reitebuch, Andreas Schäfler, and Fabian Weiler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7049–7070, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7049-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7049-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In August 2018, the first wind lidar Aeolus was launched into space and has since then been providing data of the global wind field. The primary goal of Aeolus was the improvement of numerical weather prediction. To verify the quality of Aeolus wind data, DLR performed four airborne validation campaigns with two wind lidar systems. In this paper, we report on results from the two later campaigns, performed in Iceland and the tropics.
Oliver Lux, Benjamin Witschas, Alexander Geiß, Christian Lemmerz, Fabian Weiler, Uwe Marksteiner, Stephan Rahm, Andreas Schäfler, and Oliver Reitebuch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6467–6488, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6467-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6467-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We discuss the influence of different quality control schemes on the results of Aeolus wind product validation and present statistical tools for ensuring consistency and comparability among diverse validation studies with regard to the specific error characteristics of the Rayleigh-clear and Mie-cloudy winds. The developed methods are applied for the validation of Aeolus winds against an ECMWF model background and airborne wind lidar data from the Joint Aeolus Tropical Atlantic Campaign.
Isabell Krisch, Neil P. Hindley, Oliver Reitebuch, and Corwin J. Wright
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3465–3479, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3465-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3465-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Aeolus satellite measures global height resolved profiles of wind along a certain line-of-sight. However, for atmospheric dynamics research, wind measurements along the three cardinal axes are most useful. This paper presents methods to convert the measurements into zonal and meridional wind components. By combining the measurements during ascending and descending orbits, we achieve good derivation of zonal wind (equatorward of 80° latitude) and meridional wind (poleward of 70° latitude).
Ada Mariska Koning, Louise Nuijens, Christian Mallaun, Benjamin Witschas, and Christian Lemmerz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7373–7388, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7373-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7373-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Wind measurements from the mixed layer to cloud tops are scarce, causing a lack of knowledge on wind mixing between and within these layers. We use airborne observations of wind profiles and local wind at high frequency to study wind transport in cloud fields. A case with thick clouds had its maximum transport in the cloud layer, caused by eddies > 700 m, which was not expected from turbulence theory. In other cases large eddies undid transport of smaller eddies resulting in no net transport.
Benjamin Witschas, Christian Lemmerz, Oliver Lux, Uwe Marksteiner, Oliver Reitebuch, Fabian Weiler, Frederic Fabre, Alain Dabas, Thomas Flament, Dorit Huber, and Michael Vaughan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1465–1489, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1465-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1465-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In August 2018, the ESA launched the first Doppler wind lidar into space. In order to calibrate the instrument and to monitor the overall instrument conditions, instrument spectral registration measurements have been performed with Aeolus on a weekly basis. Based on these measurements, the alignment drift of the Aeolus satellite instrument is estimated by applying tools and mathematical model functions to analyze the spectrometer transmission curves.
Oliver Lux, Christian Lemmerz, Fabian Weiler, Uwe Marksteiner, Benjamin Witschas, Stephan Rahm, Alexander Geiß, Andreas Schäfler, and Oliver Reitebuch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1303–1331, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1303-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1303-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The article discusses modifications in the wind retrieval of the ALADIN Airborne Demonstrator (A2D) – one of the key instruments for the validation of Aeolus. Thanks to the retrieval refinements, which are demonstrated in the context of two airborne campaigns in 2019, the systematic and random wind errors of the A2D were significantly reduced, thereby enhancing its validation capabilities. Finally, wind comparisons between A2D and Aeolus for the validation of the satellite data are presented.
Songhua Wu, Kangwen Sun, Guangyao Dai, Xiaoye Wang, Xiaoying Liu, Bingyi Liu, Xiaoquan Song, Oliver Reitebuch, Rongzhong Li, Jiaping Yin, and Xitao Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 131–148, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-131-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-131-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
During the VAL-OUC campaign, we established a coherent Doppler lidar (CDL) network over China to verify the Level 2B (L2B) products from Aeolus. By the simultaneous wind measurements with CDLs at 17 stations, the L2B products from Aeolus are compared with those from CDLs. To our knowledge, the VAL-OUC campaign is the most extensive so far between CDLs and Aeolus in the lower troposphere for different atmospheric scenes. The vertical velocity impact on the HLOS retrieval from Aeolus is evaluated.
Fabian Weiler, Michael Rennie, Thomas Kanitz, Lars Isaksen, Elena Checa, Jos de Kloe, Ngozi Okunde, and Oliver Reitebuch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7167–7185, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7167-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7167-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper summarizes the identification and correction of one of the most important systematic error sources for the wind measurements of the ESA satellite Aeolus. It depicts the effects of small temperature variations in the primary telescope mirror on the quality of the wind products and describes the approach to correct for it in the near-real-time processing. Moreover, the performance of the correction approach is assessed, and alternative approaches are discussed.
Oliver Lux, Christian Lemmerz, Fabian Weiler, Thomas Kanitz, Denny Wernham, Gonçalo Rodrigues, Andrew Hyslop, Olivier Lecrenier, Phil McGoldrick, Frédéric Fabre, Paolo Bravetti, Tommaso Parrinello, and Oliver Reitebuch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6305–6333, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6305-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6305-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The work assesses the frequency stability of the laser transmitters on board Aeolus and discusses its influence on the quality of the global wind data. Excellent frequency stability of the space lasers is evident, although enhanced frequency noise occurs at certain locations along the orbit due to micro-vibrations that are introduced by the satellite’s reaction wheels. The study elaborates on this finding and investigates the extent to which the enhanced frequency noise increases the wind error.
Fabian Weiler, Thomas Kanitz, Denny Wernham, Michael Rennie, Dorit Huber, Marc Schillinger, Olivier Saint-Pe, Ray Bell, Tommaso Parrinello, and Oliver Reitebuch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5153–5177, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5153-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5153-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper reports on dark current signal anomalies of the detectors used on board the ESA's Earth Explorer satellite Aeolus during the first 1.5 years in orbit. After introducing sophisticated algorithms to classify dark current anomalies according to their characteristics, the impact of the different kinds of anomalies on wind measurements is discussed. In addition, mitigation approaches for the wind retrieval are presented and potential root causes are discussed.
Anne Martin, Martin Weissmann, Oliver Reitebuch, Michael Rennie, Alexander Geiß, and Alexander Cress
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2167–2183, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2167-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2167-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides an overview of validation activities to determine the Aeolus HLOS wind errors and to understand the biases by investigating possible dependencies and testing bias correction approaches. To ensure meaningful validation statistics, collocated radiosondes and two different global NWP models, the ECMWF IFS and the ICON model (DWD), are used as reference data. To achieve an estimate for the Aeolus instrumental error the representativeness errors for the comparisons are evaluated.
Sonja Gisinger, Johannes Wagner, and Benjamin Witschas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10091–10109, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10091-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10091-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Gravity waves are an important coupling mechanism in the atmosphere. Measurements by two research aircraft during a mountain wave event over Scandinavia in 2016 revealed changes of the horizontal scales in the vertical velocity field and of momentum fluxes in the vicinity of the tropopause inversion. Idealized simulations revealed the presence of interfacial waves. They are found downstream of the mountain peaks, meaning that they horizontally transport momentum/energy away from their source.
Cited articles
Baars, H., Herzog, A., Heese, B., Ohneiser, K., Hanbuch, K., Hofer, J., Yin, Z., Engelmann, R., and Wandinger, U.: Validation of Aeolus wind products above the Atlantic Ocean, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6007–6024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6007-2020, 2020. a
Baker, W. E., Atlas, R., Cardinali, C., Clement, A., Emmitt, G. D., Gentry, B. M., Hardesty, R. M., Källén, E., Kavaya, M. J., Langland, R., Ma, Z., Masutani, M., McCarty, W., Pierce, R. B., Pu, Z., Riishojgaard, L. P., Ryan, J., Tucker, S., Weissmann, M., and Yoe, J. G.: Lidar-Measured Wind Profiles: The Missing Link in the Global Observing System, B. Am. Meteor. Soc., 95, 543–564, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00164.1, 2014. a
Born, M. and Wolf, E.: Principles of optics: electromagnetic theory of propagation, interference and diffraction of light, Pergamon, Oxford, England, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00164.1, 1980. a, b, c
Borne, M., Knippertz, P., Weissmann, M., Witschas, B., Flamant, C., Rios-Berrios, R., and Veals, P.: Validation of Aeolus L2B products over the tropical Atlantic using radiosondes, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 561–581, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-561-2024, 2024. a
Brossel, J.: Multiple-beam localized fringes: Part I. Intensity distribution and localization, P. Phys. Soc., 59, 224–234, https://doi.org/10.1088/0959-5309/59/2/306, 1947. a
Chanin, M., Garnier, A., Hauchecorne, A., and Porteneuve, J.: A Doppler lidar for measuring winds in the middle atmosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 16, 1273–1276, 1989. a
Cosentino, A., D'Ottavi, A., Sapia, A., and Suetta, E.: Spaceborne lasers development for ALADIN and ATLID instruments, in: 2012 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 22–27 July 2012, Munich, Germany, 5673–5676, https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS.2012.6352324, 2012. a, b
Cosentino, A., Mondello, A., Sapia, A., D'Ottavi, A., Brotini, M., Nava, E., Stucchi, E., Trespidi, F., Mariottini, C., Wazen, P., Falletto, N., and Fruit, M.: High energy, single frequency, tunable laser source operating in burst mode for space based lidar applications, in: International Conference on Space Optics – ICSO 2004, edited by: Costeraste, J. and Armandillo, E., International Society for Optics and Photonics, SPIE, 30 March–2 April 2004, Toulouse, France, 10568, 1056817, https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2308024, 2017. a
Durand, Y., Meynart, R., Culoma, A., Morancais, D., and Fabre, F.: Results of the pre-development of ALADIN, the direct detection Doppler wind lidar for ADM/Aeolus, in: Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites VIII, 5570, 93–104, SPIE, 2004. a
ESA: ADM-Aeolus Mission Requirements Documents, AE-RP-ESA-SY-001, 2016. a
Flesia, C. and Korb, C.: Theory of the double-edge molecular technique for Doppler lidar wind measurement, Appl. Opt., 38, 432–440, 1999. a
Francou, L., Grond, E. R., Blum, S., and Voland, C.: Optical analysis and performance verification on ALADIN spectrometers, in: International Conference on Space Optics – ICSO 2008, Toulouse, France, 14–17 October 2008, 10566, 518–523, SPIE, https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2308260, 2017. a, b, c
Gentry, B. M., Chen, H., and Li, S. X.: Wind measurements with 355-nm molecular Doppler lidar, Opt. Lett., 25, 1231–1233, 2000. a
Goodman, J. W.: Speckle phenomena in optics: theory and applications, Roberts and Company Publishers, ISBN 0-9747077-9-1, 2007. a
Harris, D. C.: History of magnetorheological finishing, in: Window and dome technologies and materials XII, 8016, 206–227, SPIE, 2011. a
Hernandez, G.: Fabry-Perot Interferometers, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0 521 32238 3, 1986. a
Horányi, A., Cardinali, C., Rennie, M., and Isaksen, L.: The assimilation of horizontal line-of-sight wind information into the ECMWF data assimilation and forecasting system. Part I: The assessment of wind impact, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 141, 1223–1232, 2015. a
Jacobs, S. D., Golini, D., Hsu, Y., Puchebner, B. E., Strafford, D., Prokhorov, I. V., Fess, E. M., Pietrowski, D., and Kordonski, W. I.: Magnetorheological finishing: a deterministic process for optics manufacturing, in: International Conference on Optical Fabrication and Testing, Tokyo, Japan, 2 August 1995, 2576, 372–382, SPIE,https://doi.org/10.1117/12.215617, 1995. a
Kajava, T., Lauranto, H., and Salomaa, R.: Fizeau interferometer in spectral measurements, JOSA B, 10, 1980–1989, 1993. a
Kanitz, T., Lochard, J., Marshall, J., McGoldrick, P., Lecrenier, O., Bravetti, P., Reitebuch, O., Rennie, M., Wernham, D., and Elfving, A.: Aeolus first light: first glimpse, in: International Conference on Space Optics – ICSO 2018, Chania, Greece, 12 July 2019, 11180, 111801R, International Society for Optics and Photonics, https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2535982, 2019. a
Koechner, W.: Solid-state laser engineering, vol. 1, Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-15143-3, 2013. a
Langenbeck, P.: Fizeau interferometer–fringe sharpening, Appl. Opt., 9, 2053–2058, 1970. a
Lux, O., Lemmerz, C., Weiler, F., Marksteiner, U., Witschas, B., Rahm, S., Geiß, A., and Reitebuch, O.: Intercomparison of wind observations from the European Space Agency's Aeolus satellite mission and the ALADIN Airborne Demonstrator, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2075–2097, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2075-2020, 2020. a, b
Lux, O., Lemmerz, C., Weiler, F., Kanitz, T., Wernham, D., Rodrigues, G., Hyslop, A., Lecrenier, O., McGoldrick, P., Fabre, F., Bravetti, P., Parrinello, T., and Reitebuch, O.: ALADIN laser frequency stability and its impact on the Aeolus wind error, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6305–6333, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6305-2021, 2021. a, b, c, d
Lux, O., Lemmerz, C., Weiler, F., Marksteiner, U., Witschas, B., Rahm, S., Geiß, A., Schäfler, A., and Reitebuch, O.: Retrieval improvements for the ALADIN Airborne Demonstrator in support of the Aeolus wind product validation, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1303–1331, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1303-2022, 2022. a, b
Marksteiner, U., Lemmerz, C., Lux, O., Rahm, S., Schäfler, A., Witschas, B., and Reitebuch, O.: Calibrations and Wind Observations of an Airborne Direct-Detection Wind LiDAR Supporting ESA's Aeolus Mission, Remote Sens., 10, 2056, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10122056, 2018. a, b
Marseille, G.-J., Stoffelen, A., and Barkmeijer, J.: Impact assessment of prospective spaceborne Doppler wind lidar observation scenarios, Tellus A, 60, 234–248, 2008. a
Martin, A., Weissmann, M., Reitebuch, O., Rennie, M., Geiß, A., and Cress, A.: Validation of Aeolus winds using radiosonde observations and numerical weather prediction model equivalents, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2167–2183, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2167-2021, 2021. a
Meyer, Y.: Fringe shape with an interferential wedge, JOSA, 71, 1255–1263, 1981. a
Olivero, J. J. and Longbothum, R.: Empirical fits to the Voigt line width: A brief review, J. Quant. Spectrosc. Ra., 17, 233–236, 1977. a
Reitebuch, O.: The Spaceborne Wind Lidar Mission ADM-Aeolus, in: Atmospheric Physics: Background – Methods – Trends, edited by: Schumann, U., Springer Berlin, Heidelberg, p. 877, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30183-4_49, 2012. a
Reitebuch, O., Lemmerz, C., Nagel, E., Paffrath, U., Durand, Y., Endemann, M., Fabre, F., and Chaloupy, M.: The Airborne Demonstrator for the Direct-Detection Doppler Wind Lidar ALADIN on ADM-Aeolus. Part I: Instrument Design and Comparison to Satellite Instrument, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 26, 2501–2515, 2009. a
Reitebuch, O., Huber, D., and Nikolaus, I.: Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document ATBD: ADM-Aeolus Level 1B Products, Tech. rep., AE-RP-DLR-L1B-001, 2014. a
Reitebuch, O., Lemmerz, C., Lux, O., Marksteiner, U., Rahm, S., Weiler, F., Witschas, B., Meringer, M., Schmidt, K., Huber, D., Nikolaus, I., Geiss, A., Vaughan, M., Dabas, A., Flament, T., Stieglitz, H., Isaksen, L., Rennie, M., de Kloe, J., Marseille, G.-J., Stoffelen, A., Wernham, D., Kanitz, T., Straume, A.-G., Fehr, T., von Bismark, J., Floberghagen, R., and Parrinello, T.: Initial assessment of the performance of the first Wind Lidar in space on Aeolus, in: EPJ Web Conf., 237, 01010, https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202023701010, 2020. a
Reitebuch, O., Krisch, I., Lemmerz, C., Lux, O., Schmidt, K., Witschas, B., Marksteiner, U., Rennie, M., Nikolaus, I., Fabre, F., Trapon, D., Dabas, A., Donovan, D., van Zadelhoff, G.-J., Wang, P., Marseille, G.-J., Kuijt, A., Tagliacarne, F., Perron, G., Huber, D., Meringer, M., Reissig, K., de Kloe, J., Cardaci, M., Gostinicchi, G., McLean, W., Henry, K., Benedetti, A., Bley, S., Stoffelen, A., Sabbatini, P., Mahfouf, J.-F., and Pourret, V.: The Earth Explorer Mission Aeolus for atmospheric wind observations – Final report from the Aeolus Data Innovation and Science Cluster DISC of Phase E, Tech. rep., https://elib.dlr.de/209970/ (last access: 15 April 2025), 2024. a
Rennie, M. P., Isaksen, L., Weiler, F., de Kloe, J., Kanitz, T., and Reitebuch, O.: The impact of Aeolus wind retrievals on ECMWF global weather forecasts, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 147, 3555–3586, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4142, 2021. a, b, c
Rye, B. J.: Molecular Backscatter Heterodyne Lidar: A Computational Evaluation, Appl. Opt., 37, 6321–6328, 1998. a
Schillinger, M., Morancais, D., Fabre, F., and Culoma, A.: ALADIN: the LIDAR instrument for the AEOLUS mission, in: Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites VI, 4881, 40–51, SPIE, https://doi.org/10.1117/12.463024, 2003. a
Stoffelen, A., Pailleux, J., Källén, E., Vaughan, J. M., Isaksen, L., Flamant, P., Wergen, W., Andersson, E., Schyberg, H., Culoma, A., Meynart, R., Endemann, M., and Ingmann, P.: The atmospheric dynamics mission for global wind field measurement, B. Am. Meteor. Soc., 86, 73–88, 2005. a
Stolz, C. J., Taylor, J. R., Eickelberg, W. K., and Lindh, J. D.: Effects of vacuum exposure on stress and spectral shift of high reflective coatings, Appl. Opt., 32, 5666–5672, https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.32.005666, 1993. a
Straume, A.-G., Rennie, M., Isaksen, L., de Kloe, J., Marseille, G.-J., Stoffelen, A., Flament, T., Stieglitz, H., Dabas, A., Huber, D., Reitebuch, O., Lemmerz, C., Lux, O., Marksteiner, U., Rahm, S., Weiler, F., Witschas, B., Meringer, M., Schmidt, K., Nikolaus, I., Geiss, A., Flamant, P., Kanitz, T., Wernham, D., von Bismark, J., Bley, S., Fehr, T., Floberghagen, R., and Parrinello, T.: ESA's Space-based Doppler Wind Lidar Mission Aeolus – First Wind and Aerosol Product Assessment Results, in: EPJ Web Conf., 237, 1007, https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202023701007, 2020. a
Tan, D. G., Andersson, E., Fisher, M., and Isaksen, L.: Observing-system impact assessment using a data assimilation ensemble technique: application to the ADM-Aeolus wind profiling mission, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 133, 381–390, 2007. a
The Pierre Auger Collaboration, Lux, O., Krisch, I., Reitebuch, O., Huber, D., Wernham, D., and Parrinello, T.: Ground observations of a space laser for the assessment of its in-orbitperformance, Optica, 11, 263–272, https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.507619, 2024. a
Tudor Davies, J. and Vaughan, J. M.: A New Tabulation of the Voigt Profile, Astrophys. J., 137, 1302, https://doi.org/10.1086/147606, 1963. a
Wang, P., Donovan, D. P., van Zadelhoff, G.-J., de Kloe, J., Huber, D., and Reissig, K.: Evaluation of Aeolus feature mask and particle extinction coefficient profile products using CALIPSO data, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5935–5955, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5935-2024, 2024. a
Weiler, F., Kanitz, T., Wernham, D., Rennie, M., Huber, D., Schillinger, M., Saint-Pe, O., Bell, R., Parrinello, T., and Reitebuch, O.: Characterization of dark current signal measurements of the ACCDs used on board the Aeolus satellite, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5153–5177, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5153-2021, 2021. a, b
Weissmann, M. and Cardinali, C.: Impact of airborne Doppler lidar observations on ECMWF forecasts, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 133, 107–116, 2007. a
Witschas, B.: Light scattering on molecules in the Atmosphere, in: Atmospheric Physics: Background – Methods – Trends, edited by: Schumann, U., p. 877, Springer Berlin, Heidelberg, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30183-4, 2012. a
Witschas, B., Lemmerz, C., Geiß, A., Lux, O., Marksteiner, U., Rahm, S., Reitebuch, O., and Weiler, F.: First validation of Aeolus wind observations by airborne Doppler wind lidar measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2381–2396, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2381-2020, 2020. a, b
Witschas, B., Lemmerz, C., Geiß, A., Lux, O., Marksteiner, U., Rahm, S., Reitebuch, O., Schäfler, A., and Weiler, F.: Validation of the Aeolus L2B wind product with airborne wind lidar measurements in the polar North Atlantic region and in the tropics, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7049–7070, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7049-2022, 2022a. a, b
Witschas, B., Lemmerz, C., Lux, O., Marksteiner, U., Reitebuch, O., Weiler, F., Fabre, F., Dabas, A., Flament, T., Huber, D., and Vaughan, M.: Spectral performance analysis of the Aeolus Fabry–Pérot and Fizeau interferometers during the first years of operation, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1465–1489, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1465-2022, 2022b. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h
Witschas, B., Gisinger, S., Rahm, S., Dörnbrack, A., Fritts, D. C., and Rapp, M.: Airborne coherent wind lidar measurements of the momentum flux profile from orographically induced gravity waves, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1087–1101, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1087-2023, 2023a. a
Witschas, B., Vaughan, M., Lux, O., Lemmerz, C., Nikolaus, I., and Reitebuch, O.: Verification of different Fizeau fringe analysis algorithms based on airborne wind lidar data in support of ESA's Aeolus mission, Appl. Opt., 62, 7917–7930, https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.502955, 2023b. a, b, c, d
Short summary
ESA's Aeolus mission, launched in 2018, has exceeded expectations, providing valuable global wind lidar data for nearly 5 years. Its data have improved weather forecasting, with Mie-cloudy winds proving to be especially precise. Challenges have emerged, such as unexpected misalignments in signal angles and reduced signal levels due to beam clipping and laser issues. Lessons from Aeolus highlight the need for better optical alignment and active control systems for future lidar missions.
ESA's Aeolus mission, launched in 2018, has exceeded expectations, providing valuable global...
