Instrument : Raman Lidar (RL)

Beneficiary of Recovery Act funding.

Instrument Categories
Aerosols, Atmospheric Profiling

Picture of the Raman Lidar (RL)
Picture of the Raman Lidar (RL)

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.

Output Value-Added Products

This instrument is an input to the following value-added products, which provide improved measurements or derived quantities.

  • 10rlprofasr1ferr : 10-minute Raman Lidar: aerosol scattering ratio and backscattering coefficient profiles, from first Ferrare algorithm
  • 10rlprofbe1news : Raman LIDAR (RL): Best-estimate state of the atmospheric profiles from Raman Lidar
  • 10rlprofbe1turn : Raman LIDAR (RL): Best-estimate state of the atmos. profiles from RL & AERI+GOES retrievals
  • 10rlprofdep1turn : 10-minute Raman Lidar: aerosol depolarization profiles and single layer cloud optical depths from first Turner algorithm
  • 10rlprofext1ferr : 10-minute Raman Lidar: aerosol extinction profiles and aerosol optical thickness, from first Ferrare algorithm
  • 10rlprofmr1turn : Raman LIDAR (RL): water vapor mixing ratio and relative humidity profiles, along with PWV
  • 10rlproftemp1news : Temperature Profiles from Raman Lidar at 10-min averaging interval
  • 10srlprofasr1ferr : 10-second Raman Lidar: aerosol scattering ratio and backscattering coefficient profiles, from first Ferrare algorithm
  • 10srlprofmr1turn : Raman LIDAR (RL): 10-sec water vapor mixing ratio andrelative humidity profiles , along with PWV
  • 1rlprofasr1ferr : 1-minute Raman Lidar: aerosol scattering ratio and backscattering coefficient profiles, from first Ferrare algorithm
  • 1rlprofext1ferr : 1-minute Raman Lidar: aerosol extinction profiles and aerosol optical thickness, from first Ferrare algorithm
  • 2rlprofasr1ferr : 2-minute Raman Lidar: aerosol scattering ratio and backscattering coefficient profiles, from first Ferrare algorithm
  • 2rlprofdep1turn : 2-minute Raman Lidar: aerosol depolarization profiles and single layer cloud optical depths
  • 60rlproftemp1news : Temperature Profiles from Raman Lidar at 60-min averaging interval
  • rlprofmerge1turn : Merged analog and photon counting profiles used as input for other RLPROF VAPs

Output Datastreams

  • rl : Raman lidar (RL): raw backscattered profiles at 355, 387, and 408 nm

Primary Measurements

The following measurements are those considered scientifically relevant.

Locations

  • Southern Great Plains (SGP)
    • Central Facility, Lamont, OK (C1)
  • Tropical Western Pacific (TWP)
    • Central Facility, Darwin, Australia (C3)

Contact(s)

Rob Newsom
(509) 372-6020
rob.newsom@pnnl.gov

John Goldsmith
engineering
(925) 2942432
jgold@sandia.gov