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At least 19 records

IIP Update: A Packaged Coherent Doppler Wind Lidar Transceiver. Doppler Aerosol WiNd Lidar (DAWN)

The state-of-the-art 2-micron coherent Doppler wind lidar breadboard at NASA/LaRC will be engineered and compactly packaged consistent with future aircraft flights. The packaged transceiver will be integrated into a coherent Doppler wind lidar system test bed at LaRC. Atmospheric wind measurements will be made to validate the packaged technology. This will greatly advance the coherent part of the hybrid Doppler wind lidar solution to the need for global tropospheric wind measurements.

Kavaya, Michael J.↗

Compact, High Energy 2-micron Coherent Doppler Wind Lidar Development for NASA's Future 3-D Winds Measurement from Space

This paper presents an overview of 2-micron laser transmitter development at NASA Langley Research Center for coherent-detection lidar profiling of winds. The novel high-energy, 2-micron, Ho:Tm:LuLiF laser technology developed at NASA Langley was employed to study laser technology currently envisioned by NASA for future global coherent Doppler lidar winds measurement. The 250 mJ, 10 Hz laser was designed as an integral part of a compact lidar transceiver developed for future aircraft flight. Ground-based wind profiles made with this transceiver will be presented. NASA Langley is currently funded to build complete Doppler lidar systems using this transceiver for the DC-8 aircraft in autonomous operation. Recently, LaRC 2-micron coherent Doppler wind lidar system was selected to contribute to the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Earth Science Division (ESD) hurricane field experiment in 2010 titled Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP). The Doppler lidar system will measure vertical profiles of horizontal vector winds from the DC-8 aircraft using NASA Langley s existing 2-micron, pulsed, coherent detection, Doppler wind lidar system that is ready for DC-8 integration. The measurements will typically extend from the DC-8 to the earth s surface. They will be highly accurate in both wind magnitude and direction. Displays of the data will be provided in real time on the DC-8. The pulsed Doppler wind lidar of NASA Langley Research Center is much more powerful than past Doppler lidars. The operating range, accuracy, range resolution, and time resolution will be unprecedented. We expect the data to play a key role, combined with the other sensors, in improving understanding and predictive algorithms for hurricane strength and track. 1

Singh, Upendra N.↗

Analysis of Doppler lidar wind measurements

Doppler lidar and multiple Doppler radar data were obtained in a convectively mixed planetary boundary layer. The lidar measurements were possible due to scattering from existing aerosols; radar reflecting chaff was released in the atmosphere to make it visible to the multiple Doppler radar network. The data were analyzed to obtain detailed horizontal wind structures. The divergence of the horizontal wind was calculated and the anelastic continuity equation integrated to obtain vertical air motions. Differences between the areally averaged quantities and the grid point values provided a measure of the fluctuations in the wind components or the turbulent wind fluctuations. Vertical profiles of the mean winds and quantities related to the turbulent kinetic energy components and the turbulent momentum transfers were also calculated.

Srivastava, R. C.↗

Airborne/Space-Based Doppler Lidar Wind Sounders Sampling the PBL and Other Regions of Significant Beta and U Inhomogeneities

This final report covers the period from April 1994 through March 1998. The proposed research was organized under four main tasks. Those tasks were: (1) Investigate the vertical and horizontal velocity structures within and adjacent to thin and subvisual cirrus; (2) Investigate the lowest 1 km of the PBL and develop algorithms for processing pulsed Doppler lidar data obtained from single shots into regions of significant inhomogeneities in Beta and U; (3) Participate in OSSEs including those designed to establish shot density requirements for meso-gamma scale phenomena with quasi-persistent locations (e.g., jets, leewaves, tropical storms); and (4) Participate in the planning and execution of an airborne mission to measure winds with a pulsed CO2 Doppler lidar. Over the four year period of this research contract, work on all four tasks has yielded significant results which have led to 38 professional presentations (conferences and publications) and have been folded into the science justification for an approved NASA space mission, SPARCLE (SPAce Readiness Coherent Lidar Experiment), in 2001. Also this research has, through Task 4, led to a funded proposal to work directly on a NASA field campaign, CAMEX III, in which an airborne Doppler wind lidar will be used to investigate the cloud-free circulations near tropical storms. Monthly progress reports required under this contract are on file. This final report will highlight major accomplishments, including some that were not foreseen in the original proposal. The presentation of this final report includes this written document as well as material that is better presented via the internet (web pages). There is heavy reference to appended papers and documents. Thus, the main body of the report will serve to summarize the key efforts and findings.

Emmitt, Dave↗

Compact, Engineered, 2-Micron Coherent Doppler Wind Lidar Prototype for Field and Airborne Validation: Doppler Aerosol WiNd Lidar (DAWN). Interim Review #1 (6 months)

A new project, selected in 2005 by NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), under the Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), will be described. The 3-year effort is intended to design, fabricate, and demonstrate a packaged, rugged, compact, space-qualifiable coherent Doppler wind lidar (DWL) transceiver capable of future validation in an aircraft and/or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The state-of-the-art 2-micron coherent DWL breadboard at NASA/LaRC will be engineered and compactly packaged consistent with future aircraft flights. The packaged transceiver will be integrated into a coherent DWL system test bed at LaRC. Atmospheric wind measurements will be made to validate the packaged technology. This will greatly advance the coherent part of the hybrid DWL solution to the need for global tropospheric wind measurements.

Kavaya, Michael J.↗

The impact of Doppler lidar wind observations on a single-level meteorological analysis

Through the use of observation operators, modern data assimilation systems have the capability to ingest observations of quantities that are not themselves model variables, but are mathematically related to those variables. An example of this are the so-called LOS (line of sight) winds that a Doppler wind Lidar can provide. The model - or data assimilation system - needs information about both components of the horizontal wind vectors, whereas the observations in this case only provide the projection of the wind vector onto a given direction. The analyzed value is then calculated essentially based on a comparison between the observation itself and the model-simulated value of the observed quantity. However, in order to assess the expected impact of such an observing system, it is important to examine the extent to which a meteorological analysis can be constrained by the LOS winds. The answer to this question depends on the fundamental character of the atmospheric flow fields that are analyzed, but more importantly it also depends on the real and assumed error covariance characteristics of these fields. A single-level wind analysis system designed to explore these issues has been built at the NASA Data Assimilation Office. In this system, simulated wind observations can be evaluated in terms of their impact on the analysis quality under various assumptions about their spatial distribution and error characteristics and about the error covariance of the background fields. The basic design of the system will be presented along with experimental results obtained with it. In particular, the value of simultaneously measuring LOS winds along two different directions for a given location will be discussed.

Riishojgaard, L. P.↗

AWP: NASA's Aerosol Wind Profiler Coherent Doppler Wind Lidar

A new airborne coherent Doppler Wind Lidar (DWL) instrument has been implemented leveraging NASA's development of the 2-micron Wind-Space Pathfinder (Wind-SP) lidar transceiver. A technology development project, Wind-SP refined and demonstrated numerous components required for a coherent-detection space wind lidar instrument. Aerosol Wind Profiler (AWP) transitioned this transceiver into an airborne wind lidar capable of providing full 3-D wind vector retrievals. AWP operates with laser pulse energy and repetition rate combination required for high spatial and vertical resolution wind profiling from space. Operation from aircraft platforms will yield very strong signal return required for detailed process studies at <2km spatial and <100m vertical resolution under most conditions. AWP will serve as NASA’s wind calibration and validation instrument for future space-based wind observations over the coming decades, while also providing data supporting space wind lidar simulation studies. The AWP instrument is introduced and preliminary results from recent AWP demonstration flights are presented.

AWP↗

Test Bed Doppler Wind Lidar and Intercomparison Facility At NASA Langley Research Center

State of the art 2-micron lasers and other lidar components under development by NASA are being demonstrated and validated in a mobile test bed Doppler wind lidar. A lidar intercomparison facility has been developed to ensure parallel alignment of up to 4 Doppler lidar systems while measuring wind. Investigations of the new components; their operation in a complete system; systematic and random errors; the hybrid (joint coherent and direct detection) approach to global wind measurement; and atmospheric wind behavior are planned. Future uses of the VALIDAR (VALIDation LIDAR) mobile lidar may include comparison with the data from an airborne Doppler wind lidar in preparation for validation by the airborne system of an earth orbiting Doppler wind lidar sensor.

Kavaya, Michael J.↗

Test Bed Doppler Wind Lidar and Intercomparison Facility At NASA Langley Research Center

State of the art 2-micron lasers and other lidar components under development by NASA are being demonstrated and validated in a mobile test bed Doppler wind lidar. A lidar intercomparison facility has been developed to ensure parallel alignment of up to 4 Doppler lidar systems while measuring wind. Investigations of the new components; their operation in a complete system; systematic and random errors; the hybrid (joint coherent and direct detection) approach to global wind measurement; and atmospheric wind behavior are planned. Future uses of the VALIDAR (VALIDation LIDAR) mobile lidar may include comparison with the data from an airborne Doppler wind lidar in preparation for validation by the airborne system of an earth orbiting Doppler wind lidar sensor.

Kavaya, Michael J.↗

Instrument Offset Optimization Technique for Airborne Doppler Wind Lidar Profiling Algorithm

This paper presents the instrument offset optimization technique for the Doppler Aerosol Wind Lidar (DAWN) profiling algorithm at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). The 2 um Doppler wind Lidar system at LaRC has a long history of research development and airborne campaigns. The core of the wind Lidar data processing is Airborne Wind Profiling Algorithm for Doppler Wind Lidar (APOLO), which was developed at LaRC. The extraction of wind parameters from the airborne Doppler wind Lidar data is challenging due to many factors such as the speed of aircraft, and the errors in instrument installation and calibration. It is unavoidable to prevent the adverse impact of calibration error and instrument installation offset on the performance of wind parameter estimation in the algorithm. Due to the unsteady environment where the data are collected, even a small offset will result in nonsensical results in the parameter estimation process. A brief introduction of APOLO and the overview of the optimization techniques are presented in this paper.

Wind profile↗

Development of a Compact, Pulsed, 2-Micron, Coherent-Detection, Doppler Wind Lidar Transceiver; and Plans for Flights on NASA's DC-8 and WB-57 Aircraft

We present results of a recently completed effort to design, fabricate, and demonstrate a compact lidar transceiver for coherent-detection lidar profiling of winds. The novel high-energy, 2-micron, Ho:Tm:LuLiF laser technology developed at NASA Langley was employed to permit study of the laser technology currently envisioned by NASA for global coherent Doppler lidar measurement of winds in the future. The 250 mJ, 10 Hz compact transceiver was also designed for future aircraft flight. Ground-based wind profiles made with this transceiver will be presented. NASA Langley is currently funded to build complete Doppler lidar systems using this transceiver for the DC-8 and WB-57 aircraft. The WB-57 flights will present a more severe environment and will require autonomous operation of the lidar system. The DC-8 lidar system is a likely component of future NASA hurricane research. It will include real-time data processing and display, as well as full data archiving. We will attempt to co-fly on both aircraft with a direct-detection Doppler wind lidar system being prepared by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Kavaya, Michael J.↗

Airborne Doppler Wind Lidar Post Data Processing Software DAPS-LV

Systems, methods, and devices of the present invention enable post processing of airborne Doppler wind LIDAR data. In an embodiment, airborne Doppler wind LIDAR data software written in LabVIEW may be provided and may run two versions of different airborne wind profiling algorithms. A first algorithm may be the Airborne Wind Profiling Algorithm for Doppler Wind LIDAR ("APOLO") using airborne wind LIDAR data from two orthogonal directions to estimate wind parameters, and a second algorithm may be a five direction based method using pseudo inverse functions to estimate wind parameters. The various embodiments may enable wind profiles to be compared using different algorithms, may enable wind profile data for long haul color displays to be generated, may display long haul color displays, and/or may enable archiving of data at user-selectable altitudes over a long observation period for data distribution and population.

Beyon, Jeffrey Y.↗

Compact, Engineered 2-Micron Coherent Doppler Wind Lidar Prototype for Field and Airborne Evaluation

The state-of-the-art 2-micron coherent Doppler wind lidar breadboard at NASA/LaRC will be engineered and compactly packaged consistent with future aircraft flights. The packaged transceiver will be integrated into a coherent Doppler wind lidar system test bed at LaRC. Atmospheric wind measurements will be made to validate the packaged technology. This will greatly advance the coherent part of the hybrid Doppler wind lidar solution to the need for global tropospheric wind measurements.

Kavaya, Michael J.↗

Airborne Doppler lidar wind field measurements

A coherent Doppler lidar has been used in an aircraft to measure the two-dimensional wind field in a number of different atmospheric situations. The lidar, a pulsed CO2 system, was installed in the NASA Convair 990, Galileo II, and flown in a summer field program that included flights in California, in Oklahoma at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, and in Montana at the Cooperative Convective Precipitation Experiment (CCOPE). This paper provides a brief description of the instrumentation and summarizes the research flights. Examples of some of the results are given along with plans for future use of the lidar.

Bilbro, J.↗

Airborne Wind Profiling Algorithm for Doppler Wind LIDAR

Systems, methods, and devices of the present invention enable airborne Doppler Wind LIDAR system measurements and INS/GPS measurements to be combined to estimate wind parameters and compensate for instrument misalignment. In a further embodiment, the wind speed and wind direction may be computed based on two orthogonal line-of-sight LIDAR returns.

Beyon, Jeffrey Y.↗

NASA’s Aerosol Wind Profiler (AWP) Coherent Doppler Wind LiDAR

NASA’s Langley Research Center recently completed development of the Aerosol Wind Profiler (AWP) suborbital, 2 µm coherent Doppler wind lidar (CDWL) instrument. The AWP instrument is presented, and the Jan 2023 flight demonstration configuration is described. Data from these demonstration flights are presented. AWP was developed with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office, Earth Science Division, and LaRC Science Directorate.

AWP↗

The e-Beam Sustained Laser Technology for Space-based Doppler Wind Lidar

An overview is presented of GEC Avionics activities relating to the Spaceborne Doppler Wind Lidar. In particular, the results of design studies into the use of an e-beam sustained CO2 laser for spaceborne applications, and experimental work on a test bed system are discussed.

Brown, M. J.↗

Coherent Doppler Wind Lidar Suborbital and Orbital Activities at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA’s Langley Research Center recently completed development of the Aerosol Wind Profiler (AWP) suborbital coherent Doppler wind lidar (CDWL) instrument. Developed with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office, Earth Science Division, and LaRC Science Directorate, the AWP project adapted the Wind-SP 2 µm transceiver for airborne use. AWP successfully completed demonstration and engineering test flights in January 2023. LaRC has been funded by a NOAA Joint Venture program Suborbital 3-D Wind Measurement Demonstration project to collect and provide AWP data. The first campaign collected > 50 hours of data during the October 2023 EcoDemonstrator campaign on the NASA DC-8, samples of which will be presented here. AWP implemented and demonstrated multiple technologies needed for a space CDWL transceiver, which have continued development towards miniaturization and ruggedization. A space-based CDWL study is being completed that leverages these recent developments, informing a vision for a relatively low-cost orbital CDWL mission that will also be introduced.

AWP↗