Lidar Research Network Water Vapor and Wind

Abstract

This paper reports on a workshop which took place on April 08/09, 2002 at the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. During this workshop, laser and lidar experts as well as experts in atmospheric sciences came together. The goals of this workshop were to establish an interdisciplinary network on lidar research, to develop operational reference systems for water vapor and wind lidar measurements and to demonstrate the significant impact of water vapor and wind lidar systems on climate and weather research. The main result was the setup of an interdisciplinary expert network Lidar research water vapor and wind. This network is responding to large gaps in our knowledge of the global water vapor and wind distribution and shall improve weather and climate research. The network has mainly the following objectives: 1) The development of high-performance, high-power laser transmitters for wind and water vapor measurements based on novel pump laser designs, 2) research on efficient frequency conversion techniques of the high-power pump light into wavelengths required for water vapor and wind lidar systems, 3) the development of an operational reference water vapor differential absorption lidar system, also as a demonstrator for space borne missions like the Water Vapor Lidar Experiment in Space (WALES), 4) the performance of observation system simulation experiments (OSSEs) in order to demonstrate the impact of lidar data on nowcasting and short-range weather forecast, 5) the extension of the application of current and future lidar data in combination with other instruments for process studies, 6) the design of future field studies including a new generation of remote sensing systems. The network shall investigate key questions in atmospheric sciences, particularly, the role of water vapor in the Earth's weather and climate system by the application of lidar systems with unprecedented accuracy, resolution and range.