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 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