Abstract

The Goddard Visible and Near IR Lidar(VIRL) 1 has been modified to the 2.1um region by replacing the Raman cell previously used to generate the 1.54 um pulse with an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) 2 that can efficiently convert the 1.064um output of the system Nd:YAG laser to generate a pulse at 2.1um. The initial test and application of the 2.1um measurements was during a deployment of the lidar on the NASA DC-8 for the TOGA/COARE project in January-February 1993. For T/C, the DC-8 was flown to and out of Townsville, Queensland. The T/C flights were north to the region of the equator and back. From the transit and local flights, a data set of significant coverage is to be generated.

© 1993 Optical Society of America