Performance Of A Coherent Lidar Remote Sensor In Snow And Fog

During the past 18 months the Wave Propagation Laboratory has operated a ground-based pulsed coherent lidar for remote sensing of atmospheric winds and backscatter. Under normal summer operating conditions, the lidar measures winds to vertical heights of 10 km or to horizontal ranges beyond 15 km. This measurement capability is degraded, however, by the presence of hydrometeors such as snow, rain, and water or ice fogs. Although presenting a much stronger target to the lidar, these phenomena absorb and scatter incident radiation to such an extent that the extinction coefficient is greatly increased. Data are presented that compare system performance during snow and fog with performance under normal operating conditions. Results of lidar parameter measurements from calibrated targets as well as atmospheric scattering are discussed.