WIND: an airborne Doppler lidar for atmospheric applications developed in French-German cooperation

WIND is a joint project between France (CNRS-CNES-Meteo France) and Germany (DLR) to develop an airborne wind Doppler lidar for meteorological applications. The instrument specifications are derived from the measurement objectives as well as the state-of-the-art in technology. Presently an operational airborne wind lidar can be designed around the CO2 laser technology, heterodyne detection, and a conical scanning of the lidar line-of-sight to sample the atmospheric wind field. The 10-micron spectral domain is suitable for long range measurements for it corresponds to an atmospheric window and an adequate backscatter coefficient in the troposphere. The first flights are scheduled early 1995 on board the Falcon 20 operated by DLR.