Zhishen Liu

High spatial and temporal resolution mobile incoherent Doppler lidar for sea surface wind measurements

A mobile Doppler lidar based on an injection-seeded diode-pumped Nd:YAG pulsed laser with a high repetition rate was developed to measure the sea surface wind (SSW) with high spatial and temporal resolution. The system was operated during the 2007 Qingdao International Regatta to measure the distribution of SSW in the racing area in real time with 50-100 m horizontal resolution and 2-10 min temporal resolution. An observation of nonuniform distribution of SSW is presented. The lidar results are compared with both buoy and wind tower measurements, which show good agreement. This lidar can be used advantageously for the 2008 Olympic sailing games as well as for observing mesoscale and microscale meteorology processes.

Direct-detection Doppler wind measurements with a Cabannes-Mie lidar: A. Comparison between iodine vapor filter and Fabry-Perot interferometer methods

Atmospheric line-of-sight (LOS) wind measurement by means of incoherent Cabannes-Mie lidar with three frequency analyzers with nearly the same maximum transmission of ~80% that could be fielded at different wavelengths is analytically considered. These frequency analyzers are (a) a double-edge Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) at 1064 nm (IR-FPI), (b) a double-edge Fabry-Perot interferometer at 355 nm (UV-FPI), and (c) an iodine vapor filter (IVF) at 532 nm with two different methods, using either one absorption edge, single edge (se-IVF), or both absorption edges, double edge (de-IVF). The effect of the backscattered aerosol mixing ratio, R(b), defined as the ratio of the aerosol volume backscatter coefficient to molecular volume backscatter coefficient, on LOS wind uncertainty is discussed. Assuming a known aerosol mixing ratio, R(b), and 100,000 photons owing to Cabannes scattering to the receiver, in shot-noise-limited detection without sky background, the LOS wind uncertainty of the UV-FPI in the aerosol-free air (R(b)=0), is lower by ~16% than that of de-IVF, which has the lowest uncertainty for R(b) between 0.02 and 0.08; for R(b)>0.08, the IR-FPI yielded the lowest wind uncertainty. The wind uncertainty for se-IVF is always higher than that of de-IVF, but by less than a factor of 2 under all aerosol conditions, if the split between the reference and measurement channels is optimized. The design flexibility, which allows the desensitization of either aerosol or molecular scattering, exists only with the FPI system, leading to the common practice of using IR-FPI for the planetary boundary layer and using UV-FPI for higher altitudes. Without this design flexibility, there is little choice but to use a single wavelength IVF system at 532 nm for all atmospheric altitudes.

Iodine-filter-based high spectral resolution lidar for atmospheric temperature measurements

This paper presents a method for measuring atmosphere temperature profile using a single iodine filter as frequency discriminator. This high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) is a system reconfigured with the transmitter of a mobile Doppler wind lidar and with a receiving subsystem redesigned to pass the backscattering optical signal through the iodine cell twice to filter out the aerosol scattering signal and to allow analysis of the molecular scattering spectrum, thus measuring temperatures. We report what are believed to be the first results of vertical temperature profiling from the ground to 16 km altitude by this lidar system (power-aperture product=0.35 Wm(2)). Concurrent observations of an L band radiosonde were carried out on June 14 and August 3, 2008, in good agreement with HSRL temperature profiles.

Direct-detection Doppler wind measurements with a Cabannes–Mie lidar: B. Impact of aerosol variation on iodine vapor filter methods

Atmospheric line-of-sight (LOS) wind measurement by means of incoherent Cabannes- Mie lidar with three frequency analyzers, two double-edge Fabry-Perot interferometers, one at 1064 nm (IR-FPI) and another at 355 nm (UV-FPI), as well as an iodine vapor filter (IVF) at 532 nm, utilizing either a single absorption edge, single edge (se-IVF), or both absorption edges, double edge (de-IVF), was considered in a companion paper [Appl. Opt. 46, 4434 (2007)], assuming known atmospheric temperature and aerosol mixing ratio, Rb. The effects of temperature and aerosol variations on the uncertainty of LOS wind measurements are investigated and it is found that while the effect of temperature variation is small, the variation in R(b) can cause significant errors in wind measurements with IVF systems. Thus the means to incorporate a credible determination of R(b) into the wind measurement are presented as well as an assessment of the impact on wind measurement uncertainty. Unlike with IVF methods, researchers can take advantage of design flexibility with FPI methods to desensitize either molecular scattering for IR-FPI or aerosol scattering for UV-FPI. The additional wind measurement uncertainty caused by R(b) variation with FPI methods is thus negligible for these configurations. Assuming 100,000 photons from Cabannes scattering, and accounting for the Rb measurement incorporated into the IVF method in this paper, it is found that the lowest wind uncertainty at low wind speeds in aerosol-free air is still with UV-FPI, ~32% lower than with de-IVF. For 0.050.07, the IR-FPI outperforms all other methods. In addition to LOS wind uncertainty comparison under high wind speed conditions, the need of an appropriate and readily available narrowband filter for operating the wind lidar at visible wavelengths under sunlit condition is discussed; with such a filter the degradation of LOS wind measurement attributable to clear sky background is estimated to be 5% or less for practical lidar systems.

Proposed ground-based incoherent Doppler lidar with iodine filter discriminator for atmospheric wind profiling

A new incoherent lidar for measuring atmospheric wind using iodine molecular filter is presented. A unique feature of the proposed lidar lies in its capability for simultaneous measurement of aerosol mixing ratio, with which the radial wind can be determined uniquely from lidar return. A preliminary laboratory experiment using a dye laser at 589 nm and a rotating wheel has been performed demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed wind measurement.

Iodine-filter-based mobile Doppler lidar to make continuous and full-azimuth-scanned wind measurements: data acquisition and analysis system, data retrieval methods, and error analysis

An incoherent Doppler wind lidar based on iodine edge filters has been developed at the Ocean University of China for remote measurements of atmospheric wind fields. The lidar is compact enough to fit in a minivan for mobile deployment. With its sophisticated and user-friendly data acquisition and analysis system (DAAS), this lidar has made a variety of line-of-sight (LOS) wind measurements in different operational modes. Through carefully developed data retrieval procedures, various wind products are provided by the lidar, including wind profile, LOS wind velocities in plan position indicator (PPI) and range height indicator (RHI) modes, and sea surface wind. Data are processed and displayed in real time, and continuous wind measurements have been demonstrated for as many as 16 days. Full-azimuth-scanned wind measurements in PPI mode and full-elevation-scanned wind measurements in RHI mode have been achieved with this lidar. The detection range of LOS wind velocity PPI and RHI reaches 8-10 km at night and 6-8 km during daytime with range resolution of 10 m and temporal resolution of 3 min. In this paper, we introduce the DAAS architecture and describe the data retrieval methods for various operation modes. We present the measurement procedures and results of LOS wind velocities in PPI and RHI scans along with wind profiles obtained by Doppler beam swing. The sea surface wind measured for the sailing competition during the 2008 Beijing Olympics is also presented. The precision and accuracy of wind measurements are estimated through analysis of the random errors associated with photon noise and the systematic errors introduced by the assumptions made in data retrieval. The three assumptions of horizontal homogeneity of atmosphere, close-to-zero vertical wind, and uniform sensitivity are made in order to experimentally determine the zero wind ratio and the measurement sensitivity, which are important factors in LOS wind retrieval. Deviations may occur under certain meteorological conditions, leading to bias in these situations. Based on the error analyses and measurement results, we point out the application ranges of this Doppler lidar and propose several paths for future improvement.

Analysis of saturation signal correction of the troposphere lidar

Usually, lidar detection systems are optimized for the measurement of the low intensity signal using the photon counting technique, but this approach results in the nonlinear signal response for the higher intensity signal. The problem is successfully solved by the combination of analog-to-digital (AD) and photoncounting (PC) detection. The optimized processing procedure of the signal combination of AD and PC is described, and the corrected result is analyzed and compared with the results by the dead-time correction method. In this way, the accuracy of wind and aerosol measurement in the nonlinear range is improved. In addition, the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the two detection methods of AD and PC are compared in the overall dynamic range of signal for the performance analysis.

Doppler wind lidar data acquisition system and data analysis by empirical mode decomposition method

This paper describes the realization of the wind lidar data acquisition system, and a method of denoising signal based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD). The paper proposes a method for raveling out the edge problem that comes with EMD. It has been proved to be a good method for solving the edge problem in analyzing lidar data. We can improve the ratio of signal to noise by using the EMD method three times more than the originals. It has been proved to be better than adjacent averaging in data processing.

Frequency locking of diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers with the digital PID method at 532-nm iodine lines in incoherent wind lidar

In our new compact DDWL (direct-detect wind lidar), we use a CrystaLaser model IRCL-100-1064S laser as a seeder, which has a thermal frequency actuator inside. Given that the external frequency actuator can only achieve green radiation stability and are technically complicated and difficult of application, here we describe a simpler method-applying improved digital PID algorithm to a servo in the compact commercial CrystaLaser laser. A PID algorithm simplifies regulation of even the most difficult cryogenic systems. The PID controller can anticipate the load action to provide closer temperature stability for the laser frequency stabilization. After setting the desired locking point to the process, the controller calculates the output with improved digital PID algorithm, and the output is fed back into the thermal actuator of the laser, which keep the laser locked to the iodine line at a central laser frequency stability level of better than 1 MHz for arbitrarily long periods.

Dual-wavelength laser frequency locking for the direct-detect wind lidar

The frequency stability of the laser transmitter is essential for wind measurement of the direct-detect wind lidar. Given that the external frequency actuator can only achieve green radiation stability and is technically complicated, here, a simple and robust method is presented – locking the laser to iodine absorption lines with an automated PID controller. The frequency stability is better than 200 kHz over 3 hours. Both the fundamental and second-harmonic frequencies are stabilized, essential for seed injection and frequency monitoring. The frequency stability performance of the laser using thermal tuning can be improved to a significant extent by the improved PID control. Two kinds of cw single-frequency lasers with different tuning actuators are applied in the frequency locking system. The root Allan variance is kept below 3.5 × 10−11 around τ = 0.003 s, and long-term stability of 2 × 10−10 for integration up to 3000 s was obtained. This locking technique is simpler and requires less laser power than locking to Doppler-free lines.