A Compact, Flexible, and Robust Micropulsed Doppler Lidar

Abstract

This work details a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) microjoule-class pulsed coherent Doppler lidar system configuration designed to measure line-of-sight wind velocities and backscatter intensity of atmospheric aerosols. The instrument is unique in its form factor. It consists of two physically separated modules connected by a 10 m umbilical cable. One module hosts the transceiver, which is composed of the telescope, transmit/receive (T/R) switch, and high-gain optical amplifier, and is housed in a small box (34.3 cm × 34.3 cm × 17.8 cm). The second module contains the data acquisition system and several electro-optical components. This form factor enables deployments on platforms that are otherwise inaccessible by commercial and research instruments of similar design. In this work, optical, electrical, and data acquisition components and configurations of the lidar are detailed and two example deployments are presented. The first deployment describes measurements of a controlled wildfire burn from a small aircraft to measure vertical plume dynamics and fire inflow conditions during summer in Florida. The second presents measurements of the marine boundary layer height and vertical velocity and variance profiles from the Research Vessel (R/V) Thomas Thompson. The new instrument has enabled greater flexibility in field campaigns where previous instruments would have been too costly or space prohibitive to deploy.