Development of an analytical uncertainty model for ship-based lidar measurements

Abstract

Ship-based lidar systems are a cost-efficient alternative for retrieving highly-reliable offshore wind data. However, the non-stationary nature of ship-mounted lidars hinders the comparison against reference datasets and, therefore, a straightforward characterization of the uncertainty levels associated with these sorts of measurements. For this reason, in this paper we have set up and report an analytical model for estimating the uncertainties of ship-based lidar measurements. The model follows the standard uncertainty propagation method considering the relevant parameters for assessing the wind speed from pulsed Doppler-lidar observations, such as the half cone opening angle, the radial velocity estimation, or the lidar beams’ orientations. Additionally, the derivation of the presented uncertainty model contemplates the technology-specific variables and considerations like the ship linear velocity or tilting, as well as the implementation of a motion correction algorithm.