Benefits of a quadrature Mach Zehnder interferometer as demonstrated in the Optical Autocovariance Wind and Lidar (OAWL) wind and aerosol measurements

S. Tucker; C. Weimer

doi:10.1117/12.2325085

22 October 2018 Benefits of a quadrature Mach Zehnder interferometer as demonstrated in the Optical Autocovariance Wind and Lidar (OAWL) wind and aerosol measurements

S. Tucker, C. Weimer

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10776, Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere, Clouds, and Precipitation VII; 107760E (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2325085
Event: SPIE Asia-Pacific Remote Sensing, 2018, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

Abstract

With internal research and development (IRAD) and NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) funding, Ball Aerospace has developed the HSRL (high spectral resolution lidar) for Aerosols Winds and Clouds using the Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar (HAWC-OAWL) – a Doppler wind lidar system to measure winds and aerosol levels from aerosol backscatter. The Doppler receiver uses a Quadrature Mach Zehnder Interferometer (QMZI) receiver that measures changes in fringe phase (e.g. Doppler induced changes in laser frequency) and fringe amplitude (illumination coherence length). Airborne flight tests in 2016 demonstrated the performance of a two-look version of the system in making line-of-sight (LOS) wind measurements and in retrieving horizontal vector wind estimates from aircraft. Subsequently, ground-tests alongside NCAR’s HSRL system providing known aerosol profiles demonstrated that the instrument performance model accurately predicts the measurement uncertainty. The system has since been reconfigured for the DC-8 aircraft to include two-looks, two-wavelengths and depolarization measurements. Current ground-based studies at Ball Aerospace are focused on demonstrating HSRL measurements with HAWC-OAWL using the QMZI ability to measure fringe amplitude as well as phase. The combined HSRL and winds measurement enables studies of aerosol transport as well as impacts of winds on cloud formations. We will review the QMZI theory and present preliminary results of HSRL data products from ground-based measurements.

Citation Download Citation

S. Tucker and C. Weimer "Benefits of a quadrature Mach Zehnder interferometer as demonstrated in the Optical Autocovariance Wind and Lidar (OAWL) wind and aerosol measurements", Proc. SPIE 10776, Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere, Clouds, and Precipitation VII, 107760E (22 October 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2325085

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KEYWORDS

Aerosols

LIDAR

Backscatter

Wind measurement

Interferometers

Doppler effect

Atmospheric particles

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