Abstract

A space-based CO₂ Doppler lidar is being considered by NASA, NOAA, DOD, and European groups to obtain direct measurements of the winds in the cloud free regions of the troposphere by measuring the Doppler shift in the backscattered energy from aerosols in motion. Workshops and panel meetings have addressed the needs of the user community and the desired measurement accuracies (NASA, 1985). Early feasibility studies by NOAA and NASA presented a generally optimistic outlook for obtaining useful wind measurements (Huffaker, et al., 1980). Current efforts are now in progress to assess the accuracies in more detail and to evaluate the impact that such global measurements will have on predictive atmospheric models (Emmitt, 1987).

© 1987 Optical Society of America