Abstract

Pressure is one of the basic atmospheric state variables and a knowledge of the pressure-height distribution (pressure profile) is needed in virtually all forecasting systems. This paper describes recent developments for the remote measurement of the atmospheric pressure profile and surface pressure. A high resolution differential absorption lidar technique utilizing measurements in the wings of lines in the oxygen A band where the absorption is highly pressure sensitive was first described by Korb.¹ This work was later extended to include the use of trough positions, the region of minimum absorption between two strongly absorbing lines.² Recently, horizontal path atmospheric measurements³ utilizing this technique have been reported with noise levels less than 1 mb. This paper discusses the basic theory of the pressure technique and presents results for the effects of finite bandwidth, shifts in trough position with altitude, and temperature errors. It also compares the accuracy for satellite-based experiments using various trough positions.

© 1983 Optical Society of America