Two-component wind fields in the atmospheric surface layer over the ocean

In March of 2015, a compact and portable aerosol lidar named SAMPLE was deployed at various locations along the northern coast of California for 10 days to explore the feasibility of using the technology, and motion estimation algorithms, to observe the 2-component horizontal vector wind field over the ocean. Results indicate that breaking ocean waves do indeed generate plumes of particulate matter that are detectable by the small elastic backscatter lidar and that this approach to wind measurement, akin to particle image velocimetry (PIV), provides plausible results in this environment. This presentation will compare and contrast the SAMPLE to the REAL, and the present the observations of the aerosol structure and wind over the ocean.