Raman Lidar (RL)
Instrument Categories: Aerosols, Atmospheric Profiling
General Overview
The Raman Lidar (RL) is an active, ground-based laser remote sensing instrument that measures vertical profiles of water-vapor mixing ratio and several cloud- and aerosol-related quantities. Lidar (light detection and ranging) is the optical analog of radar, using pulses of laser radiation to probe the atmosphere. This system is fully computer automated, and will run unattended for many days following a brief (~5-minute) startup period. The self-contained system (requiring only external electrical power) is housed in a climate-controlled 8'x8'x20' standard shipping container.
Primary Measurements Taken
The following measurements are those considered scientifically relevant. Refer to the netCDF File Header Descriptions (Data Object Design Files) for the list of all available measurements, including those recorded for diagnostic or quality assurance purposes.
- Aerosol scattering
- Atmospheric moisture
- Backscatter depolarization ratio
- Backscattered radiation
- Nitrogen
Available Value-Added Products
This instrument is an input to the following value-added products, which provide improved measurements or derived quantities.
- 10rlprofasr1ferr - Raman Lidar (RL): aerosol scattering ratio and backscattering coefficient profiles
- 10rlprofbe1turn - Raman LIDAR (RL): Best-estimate state of the atmos. profiles from RL & AERI+GOES retrievals
- 10rlprofdep1turn - Raman LIDAR (RL): depolarization profiles and single layer cloud optical depths
- 10rlprofext1ferr - Raman LIDAR (RL): aerosol extinction profiles and aerosol optical thickness
- 10rlprofmr1turn - Raman LIDAR (RL): water vapor mixing ratio and relative humidity profiles, along with PWV
- rlprofmerge1turn - Merged analog and photon counting profiles used as input for other RLPROF VAPs
Available Datastreams
- rl - Raman lidar (RL): raw backscattered profiles at 355, 387, and 408 nm
- rllog - Raman Lidar: instrument log data (alignment tweaks, etc)
Sites / Facilities
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- Southern Great Plains (SGP)
- Central Facility, Lamont, OK (C1)
Mentor(s)
Rob Newsom
(509) 372-6020
rob.newsom@pnl.gov
David Turner
associate
(608)-263-1061
dturner@ssec.wisc.edu
John Goldsmith
engineering
(925) 2942432
jgold@sandia.gov
