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Scanning Doppler Lidar


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As part of its Urban Fluid Dynamics Initiative, the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Group of Arizona State University is acquiring a new, scanning Doppler Lidar from Coherent Technologies, Inc. Due to its eye-safe infrared laser beam, and direct measurement of aerosol backscatter, the lidar is ideally suited to measure winds and aerosols in urban environments. Three-dimensional, roughly hemispherical regions of the atmosphere (30km diameter) can be scanned within minutes.

Arizona State University (with support from the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program of the Army Research Office) is one of the first universities to acquire a commercial lidar of this type for research purposes. The new lidar will be an impressive complement to the in situ instrumentation and urban modeling program at ASU. In addition, the acquisition of the lidar will open up newly developing research directions to ASU researchers. For example, direct three-dimensional measurement of fluid mechanical events will be possible – allowing better understanding of processes that mix pollution in metropolitan areas. Airport wind hazard detection will be possible, i.e. detection of shear, turbulence, gust, microbursts, and wake vortices in airport approach and departure corridors. Field tests have demonstrated that the new lidar can be used to detect above ambient clouds of bio-aerosols, thus allowing new combined sensor/model approaches to civil defense of major metropolitan areas such as Phoenix.