Articles | Volume 7, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3959-2014
© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3959-2014
© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Nov 2014
Research article |
| 27 Nov 2014
Differential absorption radar techniques: surface pressure
L. Millán
Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
M. Lebsock
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
N. Livesey
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
S. Tanelli
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
G. Stephens
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
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Luis F. Millán, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Michelle L. Santee, Jessica L. Neu, Gloria L. Manney, and Ryan A. Fuller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 11521–11534, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11521-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11521-2016, 2016
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Luis Millán, Matthew Lebsock, Nathaniel Livesey, and Simone Tanelli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2633–2646, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2633-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2633-2016, 2016
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This paper describes a method to improve the detection of liquid clouds that are easily missed by the CloudSat satellite radar. To address this, we use machine learning techniques to estimate cloud properties (optical depth and droplet size) based on other satellite measurements. The results are compared with data from the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite, showing good correlations.
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Luis F. Millán, Matthew D. Lebsock, Ken B. Cooper, Jose V. Siles, Robert Dengler, Raquel Rodriguez Monje, Amin Nehrir, Rory A. Barton-Grimley, James E. Collins, Claire E. Robinson, Kenneth L. Thornhill, and Holger Vömel
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The 2022 Hunga Tonga eruption injected a large amount of water into the stratosphere. Ozone depletion was observed inside the volcanic plume. Chlorine and water vapor injected by this eruption exceeded the normal range, which made the ozone chemistry during this event occur at a higher temperature than polar ozone depletion. Unlike polar ozone chemistry where chlorine nitrate is more important, hypochlorous acid plays a large role in the in-plume chlorine balance and heterogeneous processes.
Richard M. Schulte, Matthew D. Lebsock, and John M. Haynes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3531–3546, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3531-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3531-2023, 2023
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In order to constrain climate models and better understand how clouds might change in future climates, accurate satellite estimates of cloud liquid water content are important. The satellite currently best suited to this purpose, CloudSat, is not sensitive enough to detect some non-raining low clouds. In this study we show that information from two other satellite instruments, MODIS and CALIOP, can be combined to provide cloud water estimates for many of the clouds that are missed by CloudSat.
Luis F. Millán, Gloria L. Manney, Harald Boenisch, Michaela I. Hegglin, Peter Hoor, Daniel Kunkel, Thierry Leblanc, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Kaley Walker, Krzysztof Wargan, and Andreas Zahn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2957–2988, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2957-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2957-2023, 2023
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The determination of atmospheric composition trends in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) is still highly uncertain. We present the creation of dynamical diagnostics to map several ozone datasets (ozonesondes, lidars, aircraft, and satellite measurements) in geophysically based coordinate systems. The diagnostics can also be used to analyze other greenhouse gases relevant to surface climate and UTLS chemistry.
Frank Werner, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Luis F. Millán, William G. Read, Michael J. Schwartz, Paul A. Wagner, William H. Daffer, Alyn Lambert, Sasha N. Tolstoff, and Michelle L. Santee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2733–2751, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2733-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2733-2023, 2023
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The algorithm that produces the near-real-time data products of the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder has been updated. The new algorithm is based on machine learning techniques and yields data products with much improved accuracy. It is shown that the new algorithm outperforms the previous versions, even when it is trained on only a few years of satellite observations. This confirms the potential of applying machine learning to the near-real-time efforts of other current and future mission concepts.
Michael J. Prather, Lucien Froidevaux, and Nathaniel J. Livesey
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 843–849, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-843-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-843-2023, 2023
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From satellite data for nitrous oxide (N2O), ozone and temperature, we calculate the monthly loss of N2O and find it is increasing faster than expected, resulting in a shorter lifetime, which reduces the impact of anthropogenic emissions. We identify the cause as enhanced vertical lofting of high-N2O air into the tropical middle stratosphere, where it is destroyed photochemically. Because global warming is due in part to N2O, this finding presents a new negative climate-chemistry feedback.
Paul S. Jeffery, Kaley A. Walker, Chris E. Sioris, Chris D. Boone, Doug Degenstein, Gloria L. Manney, C. Thomas McElroy, Luis Millán, David A. Plummer, Niall J. Ryan, Patrick E. Sheese, and Jiansheng Zou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14709–14734, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14709-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14709-2022, 2022
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The upper troposphere–lower stratosphere is one of the most variable regions in the atmosphere. To improve our understanding of water vapour and ozone concentrations in this region, climatologies have been developed from 14 years of measurements from three Canadian satellite instruments. Horizontal and vertical coordinates have been chosen to minimize the effects of variability. To aid in analysis, model simulations have been used to characterize differences between instrument climatologies.
Dongwei Fu, Larry Di Girolamo, Robert M. Rauber, Greg M. McFarquhar, Stephen W. Nesbitt, Jesse Loveridge, Yulan Hong, Bastiaan van Diedenhoven, Brian Cairns, Mikhail D. Alexandrov, Paul Lawson, Sarah Woods, Simone Tanelli, Sebastian Schmidt, Chris Hostetler, and Amy Jo Scarino
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8259–8285, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8259-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8259-2022, 2022
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Satellite-retrieved cloud microphysics are widely used in climate research because of their central role in water and energy cycles. Here, we provide the first detailed investigation of retrieved cloud drop sizes from in situ and various satellite and airborne remote sensing techniques applied to real cumulus cloud fields. We conclude that the most widely used passive remote sensing method employed in climate research produces high biases of 6–8 µm (60 %–80 %) caused by 3-D radiative effects.
Kevin M. Smalley, Matthew D. Lebsock, Ryan Eastman, Mark Smalley, and Mikael K. Witte
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8197–8219, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8197-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8197-2022, 2022
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We use geostationary satellite observations to track pockets of open-cell (POC) stratocumulus and analyze how precipitation, cloud microphysics, and the environment change. Precipitation becomes more intense, corresponding to increasing effective radius and decreasing number concentrations, while the environment remains relatively unchanged. This implies that changes in cloud microphysics are more important than the environment to POC development.
Lucien Froidevaux, Douglas E. Kinnison, Michelle L. Santee, Luis F. Millán, Nathaniel J. Livesey, William G. Read, Charles G. Bardeen, John J. Orlando, and Ryan A. Fuller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4779–4799, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4779-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4779-2022, 2022
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We analyze satellite-derived distributions of chlorine monoxide (ClO) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) in the upper atmosphere. For 2005–2020, from 50°S to 50°N and over ~30 to 45 km, ClO and HOCl decreased by −0.7 % and −0.4 % per year, respectively. A detailed model of chemistry and dynamics agrees with the results. These decreases confirm the effectiveness of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which limited emissions of chlorine- and bromine-containing source gases, in order to protect the ozone layer.
Mark T. Richardson, David R. Thompson, Marcin J. Kurowski, and Matthew D. Lebsock
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 117–129, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-117-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-117-2022, 2022
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Sunlight can pass diagonally through the atmosphere, cutting through the 3-D water vapour field in a way that
smears2-D maps of imaging spectroscopy vapour retrievals. In simulations we show how this smearing is
towardsor
away fromthe Sun, so calculating
across the solar direction allows sub-kilometre information about water vapour's spatial scaling to be calculated. This could be tested by airborne campaigns and used to obtain new information from upcoming spaceborne data products.
Frank Werner, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Michael J. Schwartz, William G. Read, Michelle L. Santee, and Galina Wind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7749–7773, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7749-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7749-2021, 2021
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In this study we present an improved cloud detection scheme for the Microwave Limb Sounder, which is based on a feedforward artificial neural network. This new algorithm is shown not only to reliably detect high and mid-level convection containing even small amounts of cloud water but also to distinguish between high-reaching and mid-level to low convection.
Hugh C. Pumphrey, Michael J. Schwartz, Michelle L. Santee, George P. Kablick III, Michael D. Fromm, and Nathaniel J. Livesey
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16645–16659, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16645-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16645-2021, 2021
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Forest fires in British Columbia in August 2017 caused an unusual phenomonon: smoke and gases from the fires rose quickly to a height of 10 km. From there, the pollution continued to rise more slowly for many weeks, travelling around the world as it did so. In this paper, we describe how we used data from a satellite instrument to observe this polluted volume of air. The satellite has now been working for 16 years but has observed only three events of this type.
Nathaniel J. Livesey, William G. Read, Lucien Froidevaux, Alyn Lambert, Michelle L. Santee, Michael J. Schwartz, Luis F. Millán, Robert F. Jarnot, Paul A. Wagner, Dale F. Hurst, Kaley A. Walker, Patrick E. Sheese, and Gerald E. Nedoluha
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15409–15430, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15409-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15409-2021, 2021
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The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), an instrument on NASA's Aura mission launched in 2004, measures vertical profiles of the temperature and composition of Earth's "middle atmosphere" (the region from ~12 to ~100 km altitude). We describe how, among the 16 trace gases measured by MLS, the measurements of water vapor (H2O) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have started to drift since ~2010. The paper also discusses the origins of this drift and work to ameliorate it in a new version of the MLS dataset.
Richard J. Roy, Matthew Lebsock, and Marcin J. Kurowski
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6443–6468, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6443-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6443-2021, 2021
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This study describes the potential capabilities of a hypothetical spaceborne radar to observe water vapor within clouds.
Mark T. Richardson, David R. Thompson, Marcin J. Kurowski, and Matthew D. Lebsock
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5555–5576, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5555-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5555-2021, 2021
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Modern and upcoming hyperspectral imagers will take images with spatial resolutions as fine as 20 m. They can retrieve column water vapour, and we show evidence that from these column measurements you can get statistics of planetary boundary layer (PBL) water vapour. This is important information for climate models that need to account for sub-grid mixing of water vapour near the surface in their PBL schemes.
Viktoria F. Sofieva, Monika Szeląg, Johanna Tamminen, Erkki Kyrölä, Doug Degenstein, Chris Roth, Daniel Zawada, Alexei Rozanov, Carlo Arosio, John P. Burrows, Mark Weber, Alexandra Laeng, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Lucien Froidevaux, Nathaniel Livesey, Michel van Roozendael, and Christian Retscher
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6707–6720, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6707-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6707-2021, 2021
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The MErged GRIdded Dataset of Ozone Profiles is a long-term (2001–2018) stratospheric ozone profile climate data record with resolved longitudinal structure that combines the data from six limb satellite instruments. The dataset can be used for various analyses, some of which are discussed in the paper. In particular, regionally and vertically resolved ozone trends are evaluated, including trends in the polar regions.
David R. Thompson, Brian H. Kahn, Philip G. Brodrick, Matthew D. Lebsock, Mark Richardson, and Robert O. Green
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2827–2840, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2827-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2827-2021, 2021
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Concentrations of water vapor in the atmosphere vary dramatically over space and time. Mapping this variability can provide insights into atmospheric processes that help us understand atmospheric processes in the Earth system. Here we use a new measurement strategy based on imaging spectroscopy to map atmospheric water vapor concentrations at very small spatial scales. Experiments demonstrate the accuracy of this technique and some initial results from an airborne remote sensing experiment.
Luis F. Millán, Gloria L. Manney, and Zachary D. Lawrence
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5355–5376, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5355-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5355-2021, 2021
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We assess how consistently reanalyses represent potential vorticity (PV) among each other. PV helps describe dynamical processes in the stratosphere because it acts approximately as a tracer of the movement of air parcels; it is extensively used to identify the location of the tropopause and to identify and characterize the stratospheric polar vortex. Overall, PV from all reanalyses agrees well with the reanalysis ensemble mean.
Jens Redemann, Robert Wood, Paquita Zuidema, Sarah J. Doherty, Bernadette Luna, Samuel E. LeBlanc, Michael S. Diamond, Yohei Shinozuka, Ian Y. Chang, Rei Ueyama, Leonhard Pfister, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Amie N. Dobracki, Arlindo M. da Silva, Karla M. Longo, Meloë S. Kacenelenbogen, Connor J. Flynn, Kristina Pistone, Nichola M. Knox, Stuart J. Piketh, James M. Haywood, Paola Formenti, Marc Mallet, Philip Stier, Andrew S. Ackerman, Susanne E. Bauer, Ann M. Fridlind, Gregory R. Carmichael, Pablo E. Saide, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Steven G. Howell, Steffen Freitag, Brian Cairns, Brent N. Holben, Kirk D. Knobelspiesse, Simone Tanelli, Tristan S. L'Ecuyer, Andrew M. Dzambo, Ousmane O. Sy, Greg M. McFarquhar, Michael R. Poellot, Siddhant Gupta, Joseph R. O'Brien, Athanasios Nenes, Mary Kacarab, Jenny P. S. Wong, Jennifer D. Small-Griswold, Kenneth L. Thornhill, David Noone, James R. Podolske, K. Sebastian Schmidt, Peter Pilewskie, Hong Chen, Sabrina P. Cochrane, Arthur J. Sedlacek, Timothy J. Lang, Eric Stith, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, Richard A. Ferrare, Sharon P. Burton, Chris A. Hostetler, David J. Diner, Felix C. Seidel, Steven E. Platnick, Jeffrey S. Myers, Kerry G. Meyer, Douglas A. Spangenberg, Hal Maring, and Lan Gao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1507–1563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1507-2021, 2021
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Southern Africa produces significant biomass burning emissions whose impacts on regional and global climate are poorly understood. ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) is a 5-year NASA investigation designed to study the key processes that determine these climate impacts. The main purpose of this paper is to familiarize the broader scientific community with the ORACLES project, the dataset it produced, and the most important initial findings.
Tuomas Häkkilä, Pekka T. Verronen, Luis Millán, Monika E. Szeląg, Niilo Kalakoski, and Antti Kero
Ann. Geophys., 38, 1299–1312, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-1299-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-1299-2020, 2020
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The atmospheric impacts of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) can be useful in understanding the uncertainties of measuring the precipitation. Hence, information on how strong of an EPP flux has observable atmospheric impacts is needed. In this study, we find such threshold flux values using odd hydrogen concentrations from both satellite observations and model simulations. We consider the effects of solar proton events and radiation belt electron precipitation in the middle atmosphere.
Seidai Nara, Tomohiro O. Sato, Takayoshi Yamada, Tamaki Fujinawa, Kota Kuribayashi, Takeshi Manabe, Lucien Froidevaux, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Kaley A. Walker, Jian Xu, Franz Schreier, Yvan J. Orsolini, Varavut Limpasuvan, Nario Kuno, and Yasuko Kasai
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6837–6852, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6837-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6837-2020, 2020
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In the atmosphere, more than 80 % of chlorine compounds are anthropogenic. Hydrogen chloride (HCl), the main stratospheric chlorine reservoir, is useful to estimate the total budget of the atmospheric chlorine compounds. We report, for the first time, the HCl vertical distribution from the middle troposphere to the lower thermosphere using a high-sensitivity SMILES measurement; the data quality is quantified by comparisons with other measurements and via theoretical error analysis.
Mahesh Kovilakam, Larry W. Thomason, Nicholas Ernest, Landon Rieger, Adam Bourassa, and Luis Millán
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2607–2634, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2607-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2607-2020, 2020
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A robust stratospheric aerosol climatology is important as many global climate models (GCMs) make use of observed aerosol properties to prescribe aerosols in the stratosphere. Here, we present version 2.0 of the GloSSAC data set in which a new methodology is used for the post-2005 data that improves the quality of data in the lower stratosphere, which includes an improved 1020 nm extinction. Additionally, size information from multiwavelength measurements of SAGE III/ISS is provided.
Luis Millán, Richard Roy, and Matthew Lebsock
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5193–5205, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5193-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5193-2020, 2020
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This paper describes the feasibility of using a differential absorption radar technique for the remote sensing of total column water vapor from a spaceborne platform.
Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Kevin Bowman, Takashi Sekiya, Henk Eskes, Folkert Boersma, Helen Worden, Nathaniel Livesey, Vivienne H. Payne, Kengo Sudo, Yugo Kanaya, Masayuki Takigawa, and Koji Ogochi
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2223–2259, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2223-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2223-2020, 2020
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This study presents the results from the Tropospheric Chemistry Reanalysis version 2 (TCR-2) for 2005–2018 obtained from the assimilation of multiple satellite measurements of ozone, CO, NO2, HNO3, and SO2 from the OMI, SCIAMACHY, GOME-2, TES, MLS, and MOPITT instruments. The evaluation results demonstrate the capability of the reanalysis products to improve understanding of the processes controlling variations in atmospheric composition, including long-term changes in air quality and emissions.
Mark Richardson, Matthew D. Lebsock, James McDuffie, and Graeme L. Stephens
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4947–4961, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4947-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4947-2020, 2020
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We previously combined CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) lidar data and reflected-sunlight measurements from OCO-2 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2) for information about low clouds over oceans. The satellites are no longer formation-flying, so this work is a step towards getting new information about these clouds using only OCO-2. We can rapidly and accurately identify liquid oceanic clouds and obtain their height better than a widely used passive sensor.
F. Joseph Turk, Svetla Hristova-Veleva, Stephen L. Durden, Simone Tanelli, Ousmane Sy, G. David Emmitt, Steve Greco, and Sara Q. Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4521–4537, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4521-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4521-2020, 2020
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The mechanisms linking convection and air motion are major factors in much of the uncertainty in weather prediction, but complementary measurements of these quantities are rarely taken in close proximity. These quantities are shown from the 2017 Convective Processes Experiment (CPEX), wherein cloud and vertical air motion winds derived from the APR-2 airborne Doppler radar are combined with joint Doppler wind lidar (DAWN) measurements in the aerosol-rich regions surrounding the convection.
Thomas von Clarmann, Douglas A. Degenstein, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Stefan Bender, Amy Braverman, André Butz, Steven Compernolle, Robert Damadeo, Seth Dueck, Patrick Eriksson, Bernd Funke, Margaret C. Johnson, Yasuko Kasai, Arno Keppens, Anne Kleinert, Natalya A. Kramarova, Alexandra Laeng, Bavo Langerock, Vivienne H. Payne, Alexei Rozanov, Tomohiro O. Sato, Matthias Schneider, Patrick Sheese, Viktoria Sofieva, Gabriele P. Stiller, Christian von Savigny, and Daniel Zawada
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4393–4436, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4393-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4393-2020, 2020
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Remote sensing of atmospheric state variables typically relies on the inverse solution of the radiative transfer equation. An adequately characterized retrieval provides information on the uncertainties of the estimated state variables as well as on how any constraint or a priori assumption affects the estimate. This paper summarizes related techniques and provides recommendations for unified error reporting.
Jeffrey S. Reid, Derek J. Posselt, Kathleen Kaku, Robert A. Holz, Gao Chen, Edwin W. Eloranta, Ralph E. Kuehn, Sarah Woods, Jianglong Zhang, Bruce Anderson, T. Paul Bui, Glenn S. Diskin, Patrick Minnis, Michael J. Newchurch, Simone Tanelli, Charles R. Trepte, K. Lee Thornhill, and Luke D. Ziemba
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11413–11442, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11413-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11413-2019, 2019
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The scientific community often focuses on the vertical transport of pollutants by clouds for those with bases at the planetary boundary layer (such as typical fair-weather cumulus) and the outflow from thunderstorms at their tops. We demonstrate complex aerosol and cloud features formed in mid-level thunderstorm outflow. These layers have strong relationships to mid-level tropospheric clouds, an important but difficult to model or monitor cloud regime for climate studies.
Luis F. Millán, Matthew D. Lebsock, and Joao Teixeira
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8491–8502, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8491-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8491-2019, 2019
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The synergy of the collocated Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provides daily global estimates of marine boundary layer water vapor. AMSR provides the total column water vapor, while MODIS provides the water vapor above the cloud layers. The difference between the two gives the vapor between the surface and the cloud top, which may be interpreted as the boundary layer water vapor.
Xiaoyi Zhao, Kristof Bognar, Vitali Fioletov, Andrea Pazmino, Florence Goutail, Luis Millán, Gloria Manney, Cristen Adams, and Kimberly Strong
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2463–2483, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2463-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2463-2019, 2019
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Ozone is one of the most widely monitored trace gases in the atmosphere. It can be measured via its strong absorption bands in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (Vis) and infrared (IR) portions of the spectrum. Using multiple ground-based measurements and modeled data, this work provides a measurement-based evaluation of the impact of clouds on UV-visible total column ozone measurements in the high Arctic.
Richard J. Roy, Matthew Lebsock, Luis Millán, Robert Dengler, Raquel Rodriguez Monje, Jose V. Siles, and Ken B. Cooper
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6511–6523, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6511-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6511-2018, 2018
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The measurement of water vapor profiles inside clouds with high spatial resolution represents an outstanding problem in atmospheric remote sensing. Here we present measurements from a proof-of-concept millimeter-wave (170 GHz) cloud radar aimed at filling this observational gap, and demonstrate the ability to retrieve in-cloud water vapor profiles with high precision and resolution. This technology could meaningfully impact future satellite-based measurements of water vapor.
Dejian Fu, Susan S. Kulawik, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Kevin W. Bowman, John R. Worden, Annmarie Eldering, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Joao Teixeira, Fredrick W. Irion, Robert L. Herman, Gregory B. Osterman, Xiong Liu, Pieternel F. Levelt, Anne M. Thompson, and Ming Luo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5587–5605, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5587-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5587-2018, 2018
Jussi Leinonen, Matthew D. Lebsock, Simone Tanelli, Ousmane O. Sy, Brenda Dolan, Randy J. Chase, Joseph A. Finlon, Annakaisa von Lerber, and Dmitri Moisseev
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5471–5488, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5471-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5471-2018, 2018
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We developed a technique for inferring the physical properties (amount, size and density) of falling snow from radar observations made using multiple different frequencies. We tested this method using measurements from airborne radar and compared the results to direct measurements from another aircraft, as well as ground-based radar. The results demonstrate that multifrequency radars have significant advantages over those with a single frequency in determining the snow size and density.
Natalya A. Kramarova, Pawan K. Bhartia, Glen Jaross, Leslie Moy, Philippe Xu, Zhong Chen, Matthew DeLand, Lucien Froidevaux, Nathaniel Livesey, Douglas Degenstein, Adam Bourassa, Kaley A. Walker, and Patrick Sheese
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2837–2861, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2837-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2837-2018, 2018
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The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Limb Profiler (LP) is a newly designed research sensor aiming to continue high vertical resolution ozone records from space-borne sensors. In summer 2017 all LP measurements were processed with the new version 2.5 algorithm. In this paper we provide a description of the key changes implemented in the new algorithm and evaluate the quality of ozone retrievals by comparing with independent satellite profile measurements (MLS, ACE-FTS and OSIRIS).
Luis F. Millán, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Michelle L. Santee, and Thomas von Clarmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4187–4199, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4187-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4187-2018, 2018
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This study investigates orbital sampling biases and evaluates the additional impact caused by data quality screening for the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) and the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS).
Larry W. Thomason, Nicholas Ernest, Luis Millán, Landon Rieger, Adam Bourassa, Jean-Paul Vernier, Gloria Manney, Beiping Luo, Florian Arfeuille, and Thomas Peter
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 469–492, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-469-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-469-2018, 2018
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We describe the construction of a continuous 38-year record of stratospheric aerosol optical properties. The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology, or GloSSAC, provided the input data to the construction of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project stratospheric aerosol forcing data set (1979 to 2014) and is now extended through 2016. GloSSAC focuses on the the SAGE series of instruments through mid-2005 and on OSIRIS and CALIPSO after that time.
Hugh C. Pumphrey, Norbert Glatthor, Peter F. Bernath, Christopher D. Boone, James W. Hannigan, Ivan Ortega, Nathaniel J. Livesey, and William G. Read
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 691–703, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-691-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-691-2018, 2018
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The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) is a satellite instrument that has been measuring the amount of various gases in the atmosphere since 2004. In late 2015 and 2016 it observed unusual amounts of hydrogen cyanide (HCN), a gas produced when vegetation is burned. We compare the MLS observations to similar observations from other instruments. The excess HCN is shown to come from fires in Indonesia. There are more fires than usual in 2015–16 due to a drought caused by an El Niño event.
Xiaoyi Zhao, Dan Weaver, Kristof Bognar, Gloria Manney, Luis Millán, Xin Yang, Edwin Eloranta, Matthias Schneider, and Kimberly Strong
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 14955–14974, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14955-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14955-2017, 2017
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Few scientific questions about surface ozone depletion have been addressed, using a variety of measurements and atmospheric models. The lifetime of reactive bromine is only a few hours in the absence of recycling. Evidence of this recycling over aerosol or blowing-snow/ice particles was found at Eureka. The blowing snow sublimation process is a key step in producing bromine-enriched sea-salt aerosol. Ground-based FTIR isotopologue measurements at Eureka provided evidence of this key step.
Gloria L. Manney, Michaela I. Hegglin, Zachary D. Lawrence, Krzysztof Wargan, Luis F. Millán, Michael J. Schwartz, Michelle L. Santee, Alyn Lambert, Steven Pawson, Brian W. Knosp, Ryan A. Fuller, and William H. Daffer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 11541–11566, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11541-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11541-2017, 2017
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The upper tropospheric–lower stratospheric (UTLS) jet stream and multiple tropopause distributions are compared among five state-of-the-art reanalyses. The reanalyses show very similar global distributions of UTLS jets, reflecting their overall high quality; slightly larger differences are seen in tropopause characteristics. Regional and seasonal differences, albeit small, may have implications for using these reanalyses for quantitative dynamical and transport studies focusing on the UTLS.
Brian H. Kahn, Georgios Matheou, Qing Yue, Thomas Fauchez, Eric J. Fetzer, Matthew Lebsock, João Martins, Mathias M. Schreier, Kentaroh Suzuki, and João Teixeira
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9451–9468, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9451-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9451-2017, 2017
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The global-scale patterns of subtropical marine boundary layer clouds are investigated with coincident NASA A-train satellite and reanalysis data. This study is novel in that all data are used at the finest spatial and temporal resolution possible. Our results are consistent with surface-based data and suggest that the combination of satellite and reanalysis data sets have potential to add to the global context of our understanding of the subtropical cumulus-dominated marine boundary layer.
Luis F. Millán and Gloria L. Manney
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9277–9289, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9277-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9277-2017, 2017
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An ozone mini-hole is a synoptic-scale region with strongly decreased total column ozone resulting from dynamical processes. Using total column measurements from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument and ozone profile measurements from the Microwave Limb Sounder, we evaluate the accuracy of mini-hole representation in five reanalyses.
Niall J. Ryan, Mathias Palm, Uwe Raffalski, Richard Larsson, Gloria Manney, Luis Millán, and Justus Notholt
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 77–89, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-77-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-77-2017, 2017
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We present a self-consistent data set of carbon monoxide (CO) in the Arctic middle atmosphere above Kiruna, Sweden, between 2008 and 2015. The data are retrieved from measurements made by the ground-based radiometer, KIMRA, and are compared to coincident CO data measured by the satellite instrument MLS. KIMRA shows agreement with MLS over the altitude range in which KIMRA is sensitive (48–84 km) and the data show the signatures of dynamic processes such as sudden stratospheric warmings.
Alyn Lambert, Michelle L. Santee, and Nathaniel J. Livesey
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15219–15246, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15219-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15219-2016, 2016
Luis F. Millán, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Michelle L. Santee, Jessica L. Neu, Gloria L. Manney, and Ryan A. Fuller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 11521–11534, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11521-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11521-2016, 2016
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This paper describes the impact of orbital sampling applied to stratospheric temperature and trace gas fields. Model fields are sampled using real sampling patterns from different satellites. We find that coarse nonuniform sampling patterns may introduce non-negligible errors into the inferred magnitude of temperature and trace gas trends and necessitate considerably longer records for their definitive detection.
Xiaolu Yan, Jonathon S. Wright, Xiangdong Zheng, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Holger Vömel, and Xiuji Zhou
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3547–3566, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3547-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3547-2016, 2016
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We evaluate Aura Microwave Limb Sounder retrievals of temperature, water vapour and ozone over the eastern Tibetan Plateau against measurements from balloon-borne instruments. The newest version of the retrievals (v4) represents a slight improvement over the previous version, particularly with respect to data yields and upper tropospheric ozone. We identify several biases that did not appear in evaluations conducted elsewhere, highlighting the unique challenges of remote sensing in this region.
Luis Millán, Matthew Lebsock, Nathaniel Livesey, and Simone Tanelli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2633–2646, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2633-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2633-2016, 2016
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We discuss the theoretical capabilities of a radar technique to measure profiles of water vapor in cloudy/precipitating areas. The method uses two radar pulses at different frequencies near the 183 GHz H2O absorption line to determine water vapor profiles by measuring the differential absorption on and off the line. Results of inverting synthetic data assuming a satellite radar are presented.
Lei Huang, Jonathan H. Jiang, Lee T. Murray, Megan R. Damon, Hui Su, and Nathaniel J. Livesey
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5641–5663, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5641-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5641-2016, 2016
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This study evaluates the distribution and variation of carbon monoxide (CO) in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) during 2004–2012 on global and regional scales as simulated by two chemical transport models (GMI and GEOS-Chem), using the latest version (V4) of Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) observations. The impacts of surface emissions and convection on CO concentrations in the UTLS over different regions are investigated, using both model simulations and MLS observations.
L. Froidevaux, J. Anderson, H.-J. Wang, R. A. Fuller, M. J. Schwartz, M. L. Santee, N. J. Livesey, H. C. Pumphrey, P. F. Bernath, J. M. Russell III, and M. P. McCormick
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 10471–10507, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10471-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10471-2015, 2015
M. D. Lebsock, K. Suzuki, L. F. Millán, and P. M. Kalmus
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3631–3645, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3631-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3631-2015, 2015
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This paper describes the feasibility of using a differential absorption radar technique for the remote sensing of water vapor within clouds near the Earth surface from a spaceborne platform. The proposed methodology is shown to be theoretically achievable and complimentary to existing water vapor remote sensing methods.
S. Sanghavi, M. Lebsock, and G. Stephens
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3601–3616, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3601-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3601-2015, 2015
N. J. Livesey, M. L. Santee, and G. L. Manney
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9945–9963, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9945-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9945-2015, 2015
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Employing the well-established "Match" technique, we quantify polar
stratospheric ozone loss during multiple Arctic and Antarctic winters,
based on observations from the spaceborne Aura Microwave Limb Sounder
(MLS) instrument. The dense MLS spatial coverage enables many more
matches than is possible for balloon-based observations. Applying the
same technique to MLS observations of the long-lived N2O molecule gives
an measure of the impact of transport errors on our ozone loss
estimates.
J. Leinonen, M. D. Lebsock, S. Tanelli, K. Suzuki, H. Yashiro, and Y. Miyamoto
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3493–3517, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3493-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3493-2015, 2015
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Using multiple frequencies in cloud and precipitation radars enables them to be both sensitive enough to detect thin clouds and to penetrate heavy precipitation, profiling the entire vertical structure of the atmospheric component of the water cycle. Here, we evaluate the performance of a potential future three-frequency space-based radar system by simulating its observations using data from a high-resolution global atmospheric model.
G. L. Manney, Z. D. Lawrence, M. L. Santee, N. J. Livesey, A. Lambert, and M. C. Pitts
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 5381–5403, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5381-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5381-2015, 2015
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Sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) cause a rapid rise in lower stratospheric temperatures, terminating conditions favorable to chemical ozone loss. We show that although temperatures rose precipitously during the vortex split SSW in early Jan 2013, because the offspring vortices each remained isolated and in regions that received sunlight, chemical ozone loss continued for over 1 month after the SSW. Dec/Jan Arctic ozone loss was larger than any previously observed during that period.
L. Millán, S. Wang, N. Livesey, D. Kinnison, H. Sagawa, and Y. Kasai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 2889–2902, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2889-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2889-2015, 2015
H. C. Pumphrey, W. G. Read, N. J. Livesey, and K. Yang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 195–209, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-195-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-195-2015, 2015
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Volcanic eruptions can be violent enough to inject sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere: the layer of the atmosphere which contains the ozone layer. Sulfur dioxide is a gas, but once it is in the stratosphere various chemical reactions convert it into tiny particles. These particles can alter the Earth's climate by reflecting sunlight. In this paper we describe how we used a satellite instrument called the Microwave Limb Sounder to observe volcanic sulfur dioxide in the stratosphere.
N. B. Wood, T. S. L'Ecuyer, F. L. Bliven, and G. L. Stephens
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 3635–3648, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-3635-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-3635-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Others (Wind, Precipitation, Temperature, etc.) | Technique: Remote Sensing | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
Tracking traveling ionospheric disturbances through Doppler-shifted AM radio transmissions
Chilean Observation Network De Meteor Radars (CONDOR): multi-static system configuration and wind comparison with co-located lidar
ScintPi measurements of low-latitude ionospheric irregularity drifts using the spaced-receiver technique and SBAS signals
Quantitative error analysis of polarimetric phased-array radar weather measurements to reveal radar performance and configuration potential
Spectral performance analysis of the Fizeau interferometer onboard ESA's Aeolus wind lidar satellite
Optimization of a direct-detection UV wind lidar architecture for 3D wind reconstruction at high altitude
The GRAS-2 radio occultation mission
Characterization of surface clutter signal in presence of orography for a spaceborne conically scanning W-band Doppler radar
The ALOMAR Rayleigh/Mie/Raman lidar: status after 30 years of operation
The Far-INfrarEd Spectrometer for Surface Emissivity (FINESSE) – Part 1: Instrument description and level 1 radiances
Evaluation of the effects of different lightning protection rods on the data quality of C-band weather radars
Wind comparisons between meteor radar and Doppler shifts in airglow emissions using field-widened Michelson interferometers
A new dual-frequency stratospheric–tropospheric and meteor radar: system description and first results
The Doppler wind, temperature, and aerosol RMR lidar system at Kühlungsborn, Germany – Part 1: Technical specifications and capabilities
Directly measuring the power-law exponent and kinetic energy of atmospheric turbulence using coherent Doppler wind lidar
3D wind observations with a compact mobile lidar based on tropo- and stratospheric aerosol backscatter
A novel infrared imager for studies of hydroxyl and oxygen nightglow emissions in the mesopause above northern Scandinavia
Absolute radiance calibration in the UV and visible spectral range using atmospheric observations during twilight
Measurement uncertainties of scanning microwave radiometers and their influence on temperature profiling
Advancing airborne Doppler lidar wind profiling in turbulent boundary layer flow – an LES-based optimization of traditional scanning-beam versus novel fixed-beam measurement systems
Observing atmospheric convection with dual-scanning lidars
Evaluation of error components in rainfall retrieval from collocated commercial microwave links
In-orbit cross-calibration of millimeter conically scanning spaceborne radars
The Far-Infrared Radiation Mobile Observation System (FIRMOS) for spectral characterization of the atmospheric emission
Calibrating radar wind profiler reflectivity factor using surface disdrometer observations
Pseudorandom modulation continuous-wave narrowband sodium temperature and wind lidar
Stratospheric temperature measurements from nanosatellite stellar occultation observations of refractive bending
Airborne coherent wind lidar measurements of the momentum flux profile from orographically induced gravity waves
GNSS radio occultation soundings from commercial off-the-shelf receivers on board balloon platforms
Complementarity of wind measurements from co-located X-band weather radar and Doppler lidar
Evaluation of the New York State Mesonet Profiler Network data
Quantification of motion-induced measurement error on floating lidar systems
Observation error analysis for the WInd VElocity Radar Nephoscope W-band Doppler conically scanning spaceborne radar via end-to-end simulations
Evaluating convective planetary boundary layer height estimations resolved by both active and passive remote sensing instruments during the CHEESEHEAD19 field campaign
Atmospheric precipitable water vapor and its correlation with clear-sky infrared temperature observations
Spectral performance analysis of the Aeolus Fabry–Pérot and Fizeau interferometers during the first years of operation
Moderate spectral resolution solar irradiance measurements, aerosol optical depth, and solar transmission, from 360 to 1070 nm, using the refurbished rotating shadow band spectroradiometer (RSS)
Mitigation of bias sources for atmospheric temperature and humidity in the mobile Raman Weather and Aerosol Lidar (WALI)
Gravity wave instability structures and turbulence from more than 1.5 years of OH* airglow imager observations in Slovenia
ALADIN laser frequency stability and its impact on the Aeolus wind error
A compact static birefringent interferometer for the measurement of upper atmospheric winds: concept, design and lab performance
The COTUR project: remote sensing of offshore turbulence for wind energy application
Characterization of dark current signal measurements of the ACCDs used on board the Aeolus satellite
Relationship between wind observation accuracy and the ascending node of the sun-synchronous orbit for the Aeolus-type spaceborne Doppler wind lidar
A new lidar design for operational atmospheric wind and cloud/aerosol survey from space
VAHCOLI, a new concept for lidars: technical setup, science applications, and first measurements
A Compact Rayleigh Autonomous Lidar (CORAL) for the middle atmosphere
Measurement characteristics of an airborne microwave temperature profiler (MTP)
Towards accurate and practical drone-based wind measurements with an ultrasonic anemometer
Atmospheric observations with E-band microwave links – challenges and opportunities
Claire C. Trop, James LaBelle, Philip J. Erickson, Shun-Rong Zhang, David McGaw, and Terrence Kovacs
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1909–1925, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1909-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1909-2025, 2025
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Traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) are manifestations of atmospheric waves that are significant for the transfer of energy and momentum between atmospheric layers and regions. This work demonstrates that velocities and directions of TIDs can be measured by monitoring the tiny shift in frequency of AM radio signals when they reflect from a moving ionosphere and that this method can be scaled to use large numbers of radio receivers and transmitters to monitor TIDs on a continental scale.
Zishun Qiao, Alan Z. Liu, Gunter Stober, Javier Fuentes, Fabio Vargas, Christian L. Adami, and Iain M. Reid
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1091–1104, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1091-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1091-2025, 2025
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This paper describes the installation of the Chilean Observation Network De Meteor Radars (CONDOR) and its initial results. The routine winds are point-to-point comparable to the co-located lidar winds. The retrievals of spatially resolved horizontal wind fields and vertical winds are also facilitated, benefiting from the extensive meteor detections. The successful deployment and maintenance of CONDOR provide 24/7 and state-of-the-art wind measurements to the research community.
Josemaria Gomez Socola, Fabiano S. Rodrigues, Isaac G. Wright, Igo Paulino, and Ricardo Buriti
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 909–919, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-909-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-909-2025, 2025
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New low-cost, off-the-shelf Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers enable the estimation of zonal ionospheric irregularity drifts using the scintillation spaced-receiver technique, previously tested only with commercial GNSS receivers. Despite their low C/No resolution (1 dB-Hz), we demonstrate that the recorded raw data can be used to estimate irregularity drifts. Further, our observations are consistent with the behavior of an empirical model of the thermospheric winds (HMW14).
Junho Ho, Zhe Li, and Guifu Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 619–638, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-619-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-619-2025, 2025
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This study quantitatively analyzes and compares weather measurements from planar (PPPAR) and cylindrical polarimetric phased-array radars (CPPARs). It examines data quality and potential problems and clarifies misunderstandings between configurations. The findings highlight 2D PPPARs' challenges in making accurate weather measurements when the beam steers off broadside. The CPPAR shows promise in obtaining high-quality polarimetric data due to its azimuthal scan-invariant beam characteristics.
Michael Vaughan, Kevin Ridley, Benjamin Witschas, Oliver Lux, Ines Nikolaus, and Oliver Reitebuch
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-202, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-202, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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ESAs Aeolus mission, launched in 2018, has exceeded expectations, providing valuable global wind lidar data for nearly five years. Its data has improved weather forecasting, with Mie-cloudy winds proving especially precise. Challenges 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.
Thibault Boulant, Tomline Michel, and Matthieu Valla
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 7049–7064, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7049-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7049-2024, 2024
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This paper presents a design of a UV wind lidar, made with a UV fiber laser and a Quadri Mach-Zehnder interferometer as a spectral analyzer, used to measure the wind in front of future low-consumption aircraft. The article details the optimization of the different elements of the instrument with simulations. This paper also presents a method to optimize laser angles for determining wind direction and strength and shows a 50 % improvement over the current angles used.
Joel Rasch, Anders Carlström, Jacob Christensen, and Thomas Liljegren
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6213–6222, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6213-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6213-2024, 2024
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Soon the MetOp Second Generation (Metop-SG) series of polar orbiting meteorological satellites will be launched. On these satellites, the GRAS-2 instrument will be mounted. It will provide GNSS radio occultation measurements with unsurpassed accuracy. The occultation measurements are used routinely for numerical weather prognosis, i.e. predicting the weather. In this paper, we describe the design of this new instrument and the novel methods developed to process the data.
Francesco Manconi, Alessandro Battaglia, and Pavlos Kollias
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2779, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2779, 2024
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The paper aims at studying the ground reflection, or clutter, of the signal from a spaceborne radar in the context of ESA's WIVERN mission, which will observe in-cloud winds. Using topography and land type data, with a model of the satellite orbit and rotating antenna, simulations of scans have been run over Italy's Piedmont region. These measurements cover the full range of the ground clutter over land for WIVERN, and allowed for analyses on the precision and accuracy of velocity observations.
Jens Fiedler and Gerd Baumgarten
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5841–5859, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5841-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5841-2024, 2024
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This article describes the current status of a lidar installed at ALOMAR in northern Norway. It has investigated the Arctic middle atmosphere on a climatological basis for 30 years. We discuss major upgrades of the system implemented during recent years, including methods for reliable remote operation of this complex lidar. We also show examples that illustrate the performance of the lidar during measurements at different altitude ranges and timescales.
Jonathan E. Murray, Laura Warwick, Helen Brindley, Alan Last, Patrick Quigley, Andy Rochester, Alexander Dewar, and Daniel Cummins
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4757–4775, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4757-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4757-2024, 2024
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The Far INfrarEd Spectrometer for Surface Emissivity, FINESSE, is designed to measure the ability of natural surfaces to emit infrared radiation. FINESSE combines a commercial instrument with custom-built optics to view a surface from different angles with complementary views of the sky. Its choice of internal components means it can cover a wide range of wavelengths, extending into the far-infrared. We characterize FINESSE’s uncertainty budget and provide examples of its measurement capability.
Cornelius Hald, Maximilian Schaper, Annette Böhm, Michael Frech, Jan Petersen, Bertram Lange, and Benjamin Rohrdantz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4695–4707, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4695-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4695-2024, 2024
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Weather radars should use lightning protection to be safe from damage, but the rods can reduce the quality of the radar measurements. This study presents three new solutions for lightning protection for weather radars and evaluates their influence on data quality. The results are compared to the current system. All tested ones have very little effect on data, and a new lightning protection system with four rods is recommended for the German Meteorological Service.
Samuel K. Kristoffersen, William E. Ward, and Chris E. Meek
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3995–4014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3995-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3995-2024, 2024
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In this paper, the relationship between observations from two instruments, a meteor radar and a field-widened Michelson interferometer (ERWIN) which provide complementary information on this region, is investigated. On average the ratio of ERWIN winds to meteor radar winds is ∼ 0.7. Differences between the wind observations may be caused by variations in the airglow brightness associated with dissipating gravity waves.
Qingchen Xu, Iain Murray Reid, Bing Cai, Christian Adami, Zengmao Zhang, Mingliang Zhao, and Wen Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2957–2975, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2957-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2957-2024, 2024
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To have better understanding of the dynamics of the lower and middle atmosphere, we installed a newly designed dual-frequency radar system that uses 53.8 MHz for near-ground to 20 km wind measurements and 35.0 MHz for 70 to 100 km wind measurements. The initial results show its good performance, along with the analysis of typical winter gravity wave activities.
Michael Gerding, Robin Wing, Eframir Franco-Diaz, Gerd Baumgarten, Jens Fiedler, Torsten Köpnick, and Reik Ostermann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2789–2809, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2789-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2789-2024, 2024
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This paper describes a new lidar system developed in Germany intended to study wind and temperature at night in the middle atmosphere. The paper explains how we have set up the system to work automatically and gives technical details for anyone who wants to build a similar system. We present a case study showing temperatures and winds at different altitudes. In a future article, we will present how we process the data and deal with uncertainties.
Jinhong Xian, Chao Lu, Xiaoling Lin, Honglong Yang, Ning Zhang, and Li Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1837–1850, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1837-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1837-2024, 2024
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Improving the monitoring capability of atmospheric turbulence can help unravel the mystery of turbulence. Based on some assumptions, scientists have proposed various detection methods. However, these assumptions limit their applicability. We abandoned these assumptions and proposed a more accurate method, revealing some new results. Our method can provide more accurate three-dimensional features of turbulence, which will have a huge driving effect on the development of turbulence.
Thorben H. Mense, Josef Höffner, Gerd Baumgarten, Ronald Eixmann, Jan Froh, Alsu Mauer, Alexander Munk, Robin Wing, and Franz-Josef Lübken
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1665–1677, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1665-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1665-2024, 2024
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A novel lidar system with five beams measured horizontal and vertical winds together, reaching altitudes up to 25 km. Developed in Germany, it revealed accurate horizontal wind data compared to forecasts, but vertical wind estimates differed. The lidar's capability to detect small-scale wind patterns was highlighted, advancing atmospheric research.
Peter Dalin, Urban Brändström, Johan Kero, Peter Voelger, Takanori Nishiyama, Trond Trondsen, Devin Wyatt, Craig Unick, Vladimir Perminov, Nikolay Pertsev, and Jonas Hedin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1561–1576, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1561-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1561-2024, 2024
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A novel infrared imaging instrument (OH imager) was put into operation in November 2022 at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Kiruna (Sweden). The OH imager is dedicated to the study of nightglow emissions coming from the hydroxyl (OH) and molecular oxygen (O2) layers in the mesopause (80–100 km). Based on a brightness ratio of two OH emission lines, the neutral temperature is estimated at around 87 km. The average daily winter temperature for the period January–April 2023 is 203±10 K.
Thomas Wagner and Jānis Puķīte
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 277–297, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-277-2024, 2024
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We present a radiance calibration method based on the comparison of measurements and radiative transfer simulations of the zenith-scattered sun radiance during twilight. Cloud-free conditions are required. The method can be applied to measurements in the filed, and no laboratory measurements are required. The accuracy is estimated to range from about 4 % at 340 nm to about 10 % at 700 nm.
Tobias Böck, Bernhard Pospichal, and Ulrich Löhnert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 219–233, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-219-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-219-2024, 2024
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In this study, measurement uncertainties from microwave radiometers and their impact on temperature profiling are analyzed. These measurement uncertainties include horizontal inhomogeneities of the atmosphere, pointing errors or tilts of the instrument, physical obstacles which are in the line of sight of the radiometer, and radio frequency interferences. Impacts on temperature profiles from these uncertainties are usually small in real-life scenarios and when obstacles are far enough away.
Philipp Gasch, James Kasic, Oliver Maas, and Zhien Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5495–5523, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5495-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5495-2023, 2023
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This paper rethinks airborne wind measurements and investigates a new design for airborne Doppler lidar systems. Recent advances in lidar technology allow the use of multiple lidar systems with fixed viewing directions instead of a single lidar attached to a scanner. Our simulation results show that the proposed new design offers great potential for both higher accuracy and higher-resolution airborne wind measurements.
Christiane Duscha, Juraj Pálenik, Thomas Spengler, and Joachim Reuder
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5103–5123, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5103-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5103-2023, 2023
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We combine observations from two scanning Doppler lidars to obtain new and unique insights into the dynamic processes inherent to atmospheric convection. The approach complements and enhances conventional methods to probe convection and has the potential to substantially deepen our understanding of this complex process, which is crucial to improving our weather and climate models.
Anna Špačková, Martin Fencl, and Vojtěch Bareš
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3865–3879, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3865-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3865-2023, 2023
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Commercial microwave links as rainfall sensors have been investigated and evaluated in numerous studies with gauge-adjusted radar used for reference for rainfall observations. We evaluate collocated commercial microwave links, which are thus exposed to identical atmospheric conditions. This set-up enables the exploration of inconsistencies in observations of independent sensors using data from a real telecommunication network. The sensors are in agreement and are homogeneous in their behaviour.
Alessandro Battaglia, Filippo Emilio Scarsi, Kamil Mroz, and Anthony Illingworth
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3283–3297, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3283-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3283-2023, 2023
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Some of the new generation of cloud and precipitation spaceborne radars will adopt conical scanning. This will make some of the standard calibration techniques impractical. This work presents a methodology to cross-calibrate radars in orbits by matching the reflectivity probability density function of ice clouds observed by the to-be-calibrated and by the reference radar in quasi-coincident locations. Results show that cross-calibration within 1 dB (26 %) is feasible.
Claudio Belotti, Flavio Barbara, Marco Barucci, Giovanni Bianchini, Francesco D'Amato, Samuele Del Bianco, Gianluca Di Natale, Marco Gai, Alessio Montori, Filippo Pratesi, Markus Rettinger, Christian Rolf, Ralf Sussmann, Thomas Trickl, Silvia Viciani, Hannes Vogelmann, and Luca Palchetti
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2511–2529, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2511-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2511-2023, 2023
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FIRMOS (Far-Infrared Radiation Mobile Observation System) is a spectroradiometer measuring in the far-infrared, developed to support the preparation of the FORUM (Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring) satellite mission. In this paper, we describe the instrument, its data products, and the results of the comparison with a suite of observations made from a high-altitude site during a field campaign, in winter 2018–2019.
Christopher R. Williams, Joshua Barrio, Paul E. Johnston, Paytsar Muradyan, and Scott E. Giangrande
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2381–2398, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2381-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2381-2023, 2023
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This study uses surface disdrometer observations to calibrate 8 years of 915 MHz radar wind profiler deployed in the central United States in northern Oklahoma. This study had two key findings. First, the radar wind profiler sensitivity decreased approximately 3 to 4 dB/year as the hardware aged. Second, this drift was slow enough that calibration can be performed using 3-month intervals. Calibrated radar wind profiler observations and Python processing code are available on public repositories.
Xin Fang, Feng Li, Lei-lei Sun, and Tao Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2263–2272, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2263-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2263-2023, 2023
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We successfully developed the first pseudorandom modulation continuous-wave narrowband sodium lidar (PMCW-NSL) system for simultaneous measurements of the mesopause region's temperature and wind. Based on the innovative decoded technique and algorithm for CW lidar, both the main and residual lights modulated by M-code are used and directed to the atmosphere in the vertical and eastward directions, tilted 20° from the zenith. The PMCW-NSL system can applied to airborne and space-borne purposes.
Dana L. McGuffin, Philip J. Cameron-Smith, Matthew A. Horsley, Brian J. Bauman, Wim De Vries, Denis Healy, Alex Pertica, Chris Shaffer, and Lance M. Simms
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2129–2144, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2129-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2129-2023, 2023
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This work demonstrates the viability of a remote sensing technique using nanosatellites to measure stratospheric temperature. This measurement technique can probe the stratosphere and mesosphere at a fine vertical scale around the globe unlike other high-altitude measurement techniques, which would provide an opportunity to observe atmospheric gravity waves and turbulence. We analyze observations from two satellite platforms to provide a proof of concept and characterize measurement uncertainty.
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
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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.
Kevin J. Nelson, Feiqin Xie, Bryan C. Chan, Ashish Goel, Jonathan Kosh, Tyler G. R. Reid, Corey R. Snyder, and Paul M. Tarantino
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 941–954, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-941-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-941-2023, 2023
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Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) remote sensing is effective for atmospheric profiling. The capability of a low-cost and scalable commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) GNSS receiver on board high-altitude balloons is tested in two campaigns. Preliminary results demonstrate high-quality refractivity observations from the COTS RO receiver, which is worth further improvement for dense atmospheric observations over a targeted region.
Jenna Ritvanen, Ewan O'Connor, Dmitri Moisseev, Raisa Lehtinen, Jani Tyynelä, and Ludovic Thobois
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6507–6519, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6507-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6507-2022, 2022
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Doppler lidars and weather radars provide accurate wind measurements, with Doppler lidar usually performing better in dry weather conditions and weather radar performing better when there is precipitation. Operating both instruments together should therefore improve the overall performance. We investigate how well a co-located Doppler lidar and X-band radar perform with respect to various weather conditions, including changes in horizontal visibility, cloud altitude, and precipitation.
Bhupal Shrestha, Jerald A. Brotzge, and Junhong Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6011–6033, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6011-2022, 2022
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The NYS Mesonet Profiler Network is comprised of 17 profiler sites, each equipped with a Doppler lidar, microwave radiometer, and sun photometer. This study presents a multi-year, multi-station evaluation based on well-defined reference measurements. Results demonstrate robust technologies that can aid real-time weather operations and a network test bed that can be used for further expansion, evaluation, and integration of such technologies at a large scale.
Felix Kelberlau and Jakob Mann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5323–5341, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5323-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5323-2022, 2022
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Floating lidar systems are used for measuring wind speeds offshore, and their motion influences the measurements. This study describes the motion-induced bias on mean wind speed estimates by simulating the lidar sampling pattern of a moving lidar. An analytic model is used to validate the simulations. The bias is low and depends on amplitude and frequency of motion as well as on wind shear. It has been estimated for the example of the Fugro SEAWATCH wind lidar buoy carrying a ZX 300M lidar.
Alessandro Battaglia, Paolo Martire, Eric Caubet, Laurent Phalippou, Fabrizio Stesina, Pavlos Kollias, and Anthony Illingworth
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3011–3030, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3011-2022, 2022
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We present an instrument simulator for a new sensor, WIVERN (WInd VElocity Radar Nephoscope), a conically scanning radar payload with Doppler capabilities, recently down-selected as one of the four candidates for the European Space Agency Earth Explorer 11 program. The mission aims at measuring horizontal winds in cloudy areas. The simulator is instrumental in the definition and consolidation of the mission requirements and the evaluation of mission performances.
James B. Duncan Jr., Laura Bianco, Bianca Adler, Tyler Bell, Irina V. Djalalova, Laura Riihimaki, Joseph Sedlar, Elizabeth N. Smith, David D. Turner, Timothy J. Wagner, and James M. Wilczak
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2479–2502, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2479-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2479-2022, 2022
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In this study, several ground-based remote sensing instruments are used to estimate the height of the convective planetary boundary layer, and their performance is compared against independent boundary layer depth estimates obtained from radiosondes launched as part of the CHEESEHEAD19 field campaign. The impact of clouds (particularly boundary layer clouds) on the estimation of the boundary layer depth is also investigated.
Vicki Kelsey, Spencer Riley, and Kenneth Minschwaner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1563–1576, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1563-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1563-2022, 2022
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In the interior western USA there are distances of hundreds of kilometers between weather balloon launch sites for weather forecasting. Satellite coverage can also be sparse or with poor resolution. Using infrared thermometers, clear-sky temperatures were collected and compared with data from weather balloons. A correlation between clear-sky temperatures and precipitable water measurements from weather balloons was found. This means that citizen scientists can collect data.
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
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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.
Joseph J. Michalsky and Peter W. Kiedron
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 353–364, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-353-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-353-2022, 2022
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This paper describes an instrument that measures spectrally from 360 nm (ultraviolet) to 1070 nm (near-infrared) at 1002 separate wavelengths. The measurements were made every minute from the late summer of 2009 to the winter of 2014 at a site in northern Oklahoma (USA; 36.605° N, 97.486° W). Methods are described that enable the normalized transmission across the spectrum to be measured and, subsequently, used to calculate the aerosol optical depth and spectra irradiance.
Julien Totems, Patrick Chazette, and Alexandre Baron
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7525–7544, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7525-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7525-2021, 2021
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We describe in detail the design and calibration of the new Raman channels for the WALI system, going over the important sources of bias and uncertainty on retrieved temperature profiles. For the first time, their impact is investigated using horizontal shots in a homogenous atmosphere: the magnitude of the highlighted biases can be much larger than the targeted absolute accuracy of 1° C. Actual measurement errors are quantified using radiosoundings launched close to the lidar site.
René Sedlak, Patrick Hannawald, Carsten Schmidt, Sabine Wüst, Michael Bittner, and Samo Stanič
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6821–6833, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6821-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6821-2021, 2021
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High-resolution images of the OH* airglow layer (ca. 87 km height) acquired at Otlica Observatory, Slovenia, have been analysed. A statistical analysis of small-scale wave structures with horizontal wavelengths up to 4.5 km suggests strong presence of instability features in the upper mesosphere or lower thermosphere. The dissipated energy of breaking gravity waves is derived from observations of turbulent vortices. It is concluded that dynamical heating plays a vital role in the atmosphere.
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
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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.
Tingyu Yan, Jeffery A. Langille, William E. Ward, William A. Gault, Alan Scott, Andrew Bell, Driss Touahiri, Sheng-Hai Zheng, and Chunmin Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6213–6232, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6213-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6213-2021, 2021
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High-resolution interferometers are routinely used to measure upper atmospheric motions by measuring small Doppler shifts in spectrally isolated airglow emissions. The birefringent interferometer presented in this paper has similar capabilities as several existing state-of-the-art instruments but is smaller and less complex to construct and operate. This paper presents the measurement technique and characterization of a lab prototype and examines the performance of the instrument.
Etienne Cheynet, Martin Flügge, Joachim Reuder, Jasna B. Jakobsen, Yngve Heggelund, Benny Svardal, Pablo Saavedra Garfias, Charlotte Obhrai, Nicolò Daniotti, Jarle Berge, Christiane Duscha, Norman Wildmann, Ingrid H. Onarheim, and Marte Godvik
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6137–6157, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6137-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6137-2021, 2021
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The COTUR campaign explored the structure of wind turbulence above the ocean to improve the design of future multi-megawatt offshore wind turbines. Deploying scientific instruments offshore is both a financial and technological challenge. Therefore, lidar technology was used to remotely measure the wind above the ocean from instruments located on the seaside. The experimental setup is tailored to the study of the spatial correlation of wind gusts, which governs the wind loading on structures.
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
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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.
Chuanliang Zhang, Xuejin Sun, Wen Lu, Yingni Shi, Naiying Dou, and Shaohui Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4787–4803, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4787-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4787-2021, 2021
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The first spaceborne doppler wind lidar (DWL) Aeolus operates on sun-synchronous dawn–dusk orbit to lower the impact of solar background radiation (SBR) on wind observation accuracy. Increased SBR leads to an increment of averaged wind observation uncertainties from 0.19 to 0.27 m s-1 comparing Aeolus and two added spaceborne DWLs operating on orbits with local ascending times of 15:00 and 12:00 LT. A quantitative design of laser pulse energy according to accuracy requirements is also proposed.
Didier Bruneau and Jacques Pelon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4375–4402, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4375-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4375-2021, 2021
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Taking advantage of Aeolus success and of our airborne lidar system expertise, we present a new spaceborne wind lidar design for operational Aeolus follow-on missions, keeping most of the initial lidar system but relying on a single Mach–Zehnder interferometer to relax operational constraints and reduce measurement bias. System parameters are optimized. Random and systematic errors are shown to be compliant with the initial mission requirements. In addition, the system allows unbiased retrieval.
Franz-Josef Lübken and Josef Höffner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3815–3836, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3815-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3815-2021, 2021
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We present a new concept for a cluster of lidars that allows us to measure time-resolved profiles of temperatures, winds, and aerosols in the entire middle atmosphere for the first time, also covering regional horizontal scales (
four-dimensional coverage). Measurements are performed during day and night. The essential component is a newly developed laser with unprecedented performance. We present the first measurements. New observational capabilities in atmospheric physics are established.
Bernd Kaifler and Natalie Kaifler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1715–1732, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1715-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1715-2021, 2021
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This paper describes the Compact Rayleigh Autonomous Lidar (CORAL), which is the first lidar instrument to make fully automatic high-resolution measurements of atmospheric density and temperature between 15 and 90 km altitude. CORAL achieves a much larger measurement cadence than conventional lidars and thus facilitates studies of rare atmospheric phenomena.
Mareike Heckl, Andreas Fix, Matthias Jirousek, Franz Schreier, Jian Xu, and Markus Rapp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1689–1713, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1689-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1689-2021, 2021
William Thielicke, Waldemar Hübert, Ulrich Müller, Michael Eggert, and Paul Wilhelm
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1303–1318, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1303-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1303-2021, 2021
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We developed a wind-measuring drone with exceptional measuring accuracy and a very long flight time. Measurements are extensively validated at different levels. A comparison with a bistatic lidar reveals very small bias and RMSEs. We also present a demonstration measurement in the wake of a wind turbine. We think that our solution is a significant enhancement to existing designs, and other researchers can benefit from the details that we are giving in the paper.
Martin Fencl, Michal Dohnal, Pavel Valtr, Martin Grabner, and Vojtěch Bareš
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6559–6578, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6559-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6559-2020, 2020
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Commercial microwave links operating at E-band frequencies are increasingly being updated and are frequently replacing older infrastructure. We show that E-band microwave links are able to observe even light rainfalls, a feat practically impossible to achieve by older 15–40 GHz devices. Furthermore, water vapor retrieval may be possible from long E-band microwave links, although the efficient separation of gaseous attenuation from other signal losses will be challenging in practice.
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