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Preliminary results of wind velocity measurements made using the Arecibo 430 MHz radar are presented. These measurements were made in the altitude range between 10 and 30 km, with a time resolution of 1-2 min, and an improved altitude resolution of 150 m. A few interesting phenomena such as a quasi-stationary wavy structure and short period sinusoidal oscillations are discussed.
Satellite remote sensing systems, both operational and planned, for monitoring the ocean winds, temperatures, chlorophyll concentrations, ice flows, and the sea surface and ocean floor topographies are described. Seasat demonstrated the effectiveness of scatterometer measurements for measuring wind velocities and directions, and a new scatterometer may be launched on the U.S. Navy NROSS spacecraft in 1988. The NOAA-7 and -8 satellites carry IR sensors to monitor ocean temperatures, and can thus forewarn of the onset of El Nino. Ocean currents are traced with radar altimeters such as the one planned for the Topex satellite as a follow-on to instrumentation tested during the three-month lifetime of the Seasat satellite. Further analytical development is required, however, to improve the data analyses of the altimeter and scatterometer readings, and to account for errors introduced by the observed features and the interposed atmospheric phenomena.
Slab glass performance studies demonstate 18 J of output at 2 Hz with 2.3% wall plug efficiency. The goal is to achieve 10 J per pulse at 10 Hz and 3% wall plug efficiency during the next annual period. The slab concept was extended to Nd:YAG and to Nd:GGG. To date over 80 W of CW output power at 2% efficiency was generated in slab Nd:YAG. A multiplexed slab Nd:YAG pre-amplifier was invented and a Nd:YAG oscillator was demonstrated with 100kHz linewidth for eventual use in wind velocity measurements.
Located in a narrow canyon 15 km west of Boulder, Colorado, the Sunset pulsed Doppler radar was the first radar designed and constructed specifically as a VHF ST radar. The antenna system is a phased array of coaxial-colinear dopoles with computer-controlled phase shifters for each line of dipoles. It operates at a frequency of 40.475 MHz and a wavelength of 7.41M. Peak transmitter power is 100 kW. Aperture efficiency is 0.58 and resistive loss is 0.30 for its 3600 sq m area. The practical steering rate is 1 record/minute/position to any arbitrary antenna beam position. The first clear-air turbulence echoes and wind velocity measurements were obtained in 1974. Significant accomplishments are listed.
Signal-to-noise requirements, and how signal-to-noise determines wind velocity measurement accuracy were studied. A Nd:YAG-based system was found to be competitive with a CO2-based system. Hardware was developed for a coherent Nd:YAG LIDAR system, and is being integrated into a functioning system. A diode-pumped monolithic rod laser to be used as a reference oscillator, a high-power, single-mode ring laser, for use as a master oscillator, and a high-gain, multipass amplifier were constructed.
A guide to the extant literature concerning remote sensing of the atmosphere by laser-based devices is presented, with emphasis on surveys of the field as well as the most important recent results. Topics surveyed include measurements of aerosol constituents using lidar, the differential absorption lidar technique, the use of laser long-path differential absorption, Raman scattering techniques, and fluorescence lidar techniques. Special attention is given to measuring wind velocity using CO2 heterodyne lidar systems.
Pulsed CO2 lasers have many remote sensing applications from space, airborne, and ground platforms. The NASA Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder (LAWS) system will be designed to measure wind velocities from polar earth orbit for a period of up to three years. Accordingly, this and other applications require a closed-cycle pulsed CO2 laser which necessitates the use of an efficient CO-O2 recombination catalyst for these dissociation products which otherwise would degrade the laser operation. The required catalyst must not only operate at low temperatures but also must operate efficiently for long time periods. The research effort at NASA LaRC has centered around development and testing of CO oxidation catalysts for closed-cycle, pulsed, common and rare-isotope CO2 lasers. Researchers examined available commercial catalysts both in a laser and under simulated closed-cycle laser conditions with efforts aimed toward a thorough understanding of the fundamental catalytic reaction. These data were used to design and synthesize new catalyst compositions to better meet the catalyst requirements for closed-cycle pulsed CO2 lasers. Syntheses and test results for catalysts developed at Langley Research Center which have significantly better long-term decay characteristics than previously available catalysts and at the same time operate quite well under lower temperature conditions are discussed.
The Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder (LAWS) Program has as one of its goals the development of a satellite based carbon dioxide laser for making wind velocity measurements. The specifications for this laser include the requirement that the laser operate at a repetition rate of 10 Hertz continuously for three years. Earth-based carbon dioxide lasers can operate for only a short time on a single charge of gas because the lasing action causes the CO2 to break down into CO and O2. Therefore, earth-based CO2 lasers are generally operated in a flow through mode in which the spent gas is continually exhausted and fresh gas is continually added. For a satellite based system, however, a recirculation system is desired because it is not practical to send up extra tanks of CO2. A catalyst which could enable a recirculating CO2 laser to function continuously for three years needs to be developed. In the development of a catalyst system there are many variables. Obviously, not all possible formulations can be tested for three years, therefore, an accurate model which is based on the reaction mechanism is needed. The construction of a multistep reaction mechanism is similar to the construction of a jigsaw puzzle. Different techniques each supply a piece of the puzzle and the researcher must put the pieces together. Transmission infrared spectroscopy was shown to be very useful in supplying some of the information needed to elucidate reaction mechanisms. The purpose was to see what kind of information might be obtained about the NASA catalyst using infrared absorption spectroscopy. Approximately 200 infrared spectra of the prototype Pt/tin oxide catalyst and its precursor components are observed under a variety of different conditions. The most significant observations are summarized.
STC Catalysts, Inc. (SCi) manufactures a noble metal reducible oxide catalyst consisting primarily of platinum and tin dioxide deposited on a ceramic substrate. It is an ambient temperature oxidation catalyst that was developed primarily for Carbon Dioxide Lasers.The catalyst was developed by the NASA Langley Research Center for the Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder Program (LAWS) which was intended to measure wind velocity on a global basis. There are a number of NASA owned patents covering various aspects of the catalyst.
Experimental data are presented to support the development of a new concept for ocean wind velocity measurement with the polarimetric microwave radar technology.
CO2 lidar systems technology and signal processing requirements relevant to measurement needs and sensitivity are discussed. Doppler processing is similar to microwave radar, with signal reception controlled by a computer capable of both direct and heterodyne operations. Trace gas concentrations have been obtained with the NASA DIAL system, and trace gas transport has been determined with Doppler lidar measurements for wind velocity and turbulence. High vertical resolution measurement of trace gases, wind velocity, and turbulence are most important in the planetary boundary layer and in regions between the PBL and the lower stratosphere. Shear measurements are critical for airport operational safety. A sensitivity analysis for heterodyne detection with the DIAL system and for short pulses using a Doppler lidar system is presented. The development of transient injection locking techniques, as well as frequency stability by reducing chirp and catalytic control of closed cycle CO2 laser chemistry, is described.
Anemometer comparison using mean wind velocity and wind velocity variation measurements
Detailed wind velocities and temperature profile measurements by FPS-14 radar/Jimsphere technique for space vehicle and SST applications
Carbon dioxide (CO2) laser Doppler lidar systems are employed in the remote measurement of wind velocities. The cross velocity component is measured utilizing an appropriate detector array configuration. This allows determination of the three dimensional characteristics of the wind with conventional Doppler lidar systems.
Demonstration of the utility of a laser Doppler-type instrument for studying the velocity structure of atmospheric flow. Its value lies in the fact that regions of interest can be sensed remotely without introducing a perturbation at that location. The absence of moving mechanical parts results in a sensor with high frequency response capability. Regions of the atmosphere to be monitored can be selected simply by deflecting a mirror and adjusting the position of the focusing lens.
Differences in experimental results for surface gravity wave phase speeds obtained by cross spectra and slope-height spectra are compared. It is shown that, for a simple two-dimensional model containing both dispersive and non-dispersive waves, the observed differences can be explained readily. The slope-height technique measures a weighted average of the wavenumber squared; for frequencies sufficiently large compared with the dominant frequency, the computed phase-speed variation with frequency is representative of the wave having the larger wavenumber - the dispersive wave. For the cross-spectral method, it is shown that the small-probe-separation assumption usually employed is not valid for frequencies much larger than the dominant frequency, except at the singular point where both waves have exactly equal spectral densities and the phase function represents an average of the two modes. For all other cases, the phase function approaches that of the wave having the larger spectral density, and essentially ignores the presence of the other wave, even if both modes are relatively close in their contributions to the total spectral density.
Our presentation consists of two parts: (1) a summary review of laser Doppler principles and applications, and (2) operational design and preliminary laboratory tests of a CO2 laser system for NOAA applications.
A tunable multiatmospheric pulsed CO2 laser with emphasis on experimental features and supporting theoretical analyses important to differential absorption lidar and Doppler lidar measurement of pollutants and wind velocities is reported. The energy deposition and the means to produce the uniform high density plasma in the multiatmospheric medium, through UV preionization of an organic seed gas is discussed. Design features of the pulsed CO2 laser are presented. The radiative processes which are operative and prevent the laser from breaking into oscillations in a large number of modes over its broad amplification bandwidth are described. The mode competition for the transient pulsed laser oscillation in a standing wave and traveling wave ring laser configuration is discussed and contrasted with the approach to steady state oscillations. The latter findings are important to transient injection locking for production of a highly stable pulsed CO2 laser output.