Abstract

We have measured wind fields from the atmospheric boundary layer to the lower stratosphere using the NOAA pulsed, infrared (CO₂) Doppler lidar and compared the results with measurements by sonic anemometers on a 300 m tower, by rawinsondes, by Jimspheres, and by a radar wind profiler. Lidar-measured winds were determined using a velocity azimuth display or VAD method (Lhermitte and Atlas, 1961). The results show that when the backscattered signal exceeds lidar system noise by 10 dB, wind measurement is accurate to within a small fraction of a meter per second. In this paper, we discuss how these comparisons were made and point out other features of measuring wind fields with pulsed Doppler lidars.

© 1983 Optical Society of America