Tuesday, 22 January 2008
New combined lidar and radar measurement capability from Wyoming King Air
Exhibit Hall B (Ernest N. Morial Convention Center)
The Wyoming Cloud Lidar (WCL) and Wyoming Cloud Radar (WCR) have recently been combined on Wyoming King Air to enhance cloud observation capabilities. The WCL is a compact elastic polarization lidar (upward pointing) to provide cloud boundary as well as backscattering and depolarization ratio profiles. The WCR, which has served the atmospheric community for more than 10 years, provides cloud structure in terms of radar reflectivity and Doppler velocity as well as cloud scale dynamics below aircraft. The combined lidar and radar measurements from Wyoming King Air allow us to apply different remote sensing retrieval algorithms to better characterize cloud macrophysical and microphysical properties. As an example, we will show a mixed-phase altocumulus observed by WCL and WCR on January 2006. The case will clearly illustrate the advantage of combining lidar, radar and in situ measurements from a single aircraft for cloud study.
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