Applications of Doppler LIDAR Technology to Air Quality Management

The advancement of Doppler LIDAR technologies for the study of the complex interactions of the land and the atmosphere is crucial for applications in which a deeper understanding of the dynamics of boundary layer phenomena is needed. Expanding current Doppler LIDAR networks can help improve the representativeness of atmospheric flows in conditions where the observation of atmospheric dynamics critically depends on the accurate characterization of turbulence across multiple spatial scales. Doppler LIDARs in cooperation with other ground based instruments, including other LIDARs, radiometers, and satellite based observations, can be used to observe these boundary layer phenomena and hence provide new knowledge for the advancement of applications, such as air quality management. By monitoring the complex energy/land/atmosphere interactions with this suite of instrumentation in NYC, we are improving the information sources that are needed by the air quality community in the NYC Metro area.