Design of a High Resolution RMR Lidar for Deployment to Summit, Greenland and Atmospheric Measurement

Understanding microphysical properties of clouds and aerosols is crucial to understanding large-scale weather processes which drive climate change. A dearth of high vertical and temporal resolution measurements in the arctic contributes to modeling uncertainty which directly inhibits understanding of cloud radiative and precipitation impacts on the surface environment. To better resolve and understand small-scale properties of arctic clouds and aerosols, and thereby begin to meet the need of high-resolution measurements as model input, a new polarization sensitive Raman laser radar system is in development, which can measure temperature, water vapor concentration, cloud phase, and three wavelength elastic backscatter. A description of the design of the system will be given with emphasis on the features which allow for complete diurnal coverage and autonomous operation. An optical design of the system will be presented as well as baseline performance estimates validated using similar operational lidar systems.