Double-edge molecular technique for Doppler lidar wind measurement

Abstract

The double-edge lidar technique for measuring the wind based upon using molecular backscatter is described. The technique uses two high spectral resolution edge filters which are located in the wings of the Rayleigh-Brillouin profile. This doubles the signal change per unit Doppler shift, the sensitivity, and gives nearly a factor of two improvement in measurement accuracy relative to the single edge technique. The use of a crossover region is described where the sensitivity of a molecular and aerosol-based measurement are equal. This desensitizes the molecular measurement to the effects of aerosol scattering over a frequency range of plus or minus 100 m/s. We give methods for correcting for short- term, shot to shot, frequency jitter and drift using a laser reference frequency measurement and methods for long-term frequency correction using a servo control system. The effects of Rayleigh-Brillouin scattering on the measurement are shown to be significant and are included in the analysis. Simulations for a conical scanning satellite-based lidar at 355 nm show an accuracy of 2 - 3 m/s for altitudes of 2 to 15 km for a 1 km vertical resolution, a satellite altitude of 400 km and a 200 km X 200 km spatial resolution. Results for recent wind measurements, which show an accuracy of 1 m/s up to an altitude of 10 km, are given.