Abstract

An airborne CO₂ backscatter lidar instrument was recently flown on the NASA DC-8 research aircraft during two extended missions over the Pacific. These two missions, namely the GLOBE 1989 and GLOBE 1990 Missions, consisted of 15 flights between November 6 and November 30, 1989, and 13 flights between May 12 and June 5, 1990. The objectives during these Pacific circumnavigations were to characterize aerosol backscatter levels at infrared wavelengths in relatively pristine regions of the troposphere, and to observe cloud effects on lidar signals. The 9 µm wavelength of the JPL airborne backscatter lidar (ABL) instrument is of particular importance in support of the NASA LAWS (Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder) assessment and design studies. These lidar studies, when combined with other lidar instrument data and aerosol in-situ sampler data from the aircraft platform, will elucidate the effects of various aerosol sources and sinks and aerosol transport on large-scale aerosol distributions in the Pacific troposphere. These studies form an important element of the NASA GLOBE (Global Backscatter Experiment) program, which is coordinated by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

© 1991 Optical Society of America