ALBERT

Description: Between October 15 and November 8, 1988, the Goddard Space Flight Center mobile stratospheric lidar was in place at the (JPL) Table Mountain Facility (located at 34.4 deg N, 117.7 deg W) for the purpose of intercomparing with the JPL lidar permanently stationed at the observatory. During the course of the intercomparison both lidar systems detected a significant change in the vertical profile of ozone lasting for several days. An analysis of meteorological data available from the National Meteorological Center has shown this change to be dynamical in origin due to the transport of subpolar air over Table Mountain.

Description: For approximately one month during October and November 1988 the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center mobile lidar system was brought to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Table Mountain Facility, to make side-by-side measurements with the JPL lidar of stratospheric ozone concentration profiles. Measurements were made by both excimer laser DIAL systems on fifteen nights during this period. The results showed good agreement of the ozone profiles measured between 20- and 40-km altitude. This is believed to be the first reported side-by-side measurement intercomparison of two stratospheric ozone lidar systems.

Description: A technique for deriving large-scale pollution parameters from NIR and visible satellite remote-sensing images obtained over land or water is described and demonstrated on AVHRR images. The method is based on comparison of the upward radiances on clear and hazy days and permits simultaneous determination of aerosol optical thickness with error Delta tau(a) = 0.08-0.15, particle size with error + or - 100-200 nm, and single-scattering albedo with error + or - 0.03 (for albedos near 1), all assuming accurate and stable satellite calibration and stable surface reflectance between the clear and hazy days. In the analysis of AVHRR images of smoke from a forest fire, good agreement was obtained between satellite and ground-based (sun-photometer) measurements of aerosol optical thickness, but the satellite particle sizes were systematically greater than those measured from the ground. The AVHRR single-scattering albedo agreed well with a Landsat albedo for the same smoke.

Description: Water vapor and aerosols are important atmospheric constituents. Knowledge of the structure of water vapor is important in understanding convective development, atmospheric stability, the interaction of the atmosphere with the surface, and energy feedback mechanisms and how they relate to global warming calculations. The Raman Lidar group at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) developed an advanced Raman Lidar for use in measuring water vapor and aerosols in the earth's atmosphere. Drawing on the experience gained through the development and use of our previous Nd:YAG based system, we have developed a completely new lidar system which uses a XeF excimer laser and a large scanning mirror. The additional power of the excimer and the considerably improved optical throughput of the system have resulted in approximately a factor of 25 improvement in system performance for nighttime measurements. Every component of the current system has new design concepts incorporated. The lidar system consists of two mobile trailers; the first (13m x 2.4m) houses the lidar instrument, the other (9.75m x 2.4m) is for system control, realtime data display, and analysis. The laser transmitter is a Lambda Physik LPX 240 iCC operating at 400 Hz with a XeF gas mixture (351 nm). The telescope is a .75m horizontally mounted Dall-Kirkham system which is bore sited with a .8m x 1.1m elliptical flat which has a full 180 degree scan capability - horizon to horizon within a plane perpendicular to the long axis of the trailer. The telescope and scan mirror assembly are mounted on a 3.65m x .9m optical table which deploys out the rear of the trailer through the use of a motor driven slide rail system. The Raman returns from water vapor (403 nm), nitrogen (383 nm) and oxygen (372 nm) are measured in addition to the direct Rayleigh/Mie backscatter (351). The signal from each of these is split at about a 5/95 ratio between two photomultiplier detectors. The 5 percent detector is used for measurements below about 4.0 km, while the 95 percent detector provides the information above this level.

Description: The Goddard mobile lidar was deployed at Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis, New Mexico during the Spring of 1990. Measurements of stratospheric ozone and temperature were made over a period of six weeks. Data from the lidar system is compared with data from a balloon-borne, ultraviolet instrument launched from nearby Ft. Sumner, New Mexico. Along with several improvements to this instrument which are now underway, a second lidar dedicated to temperature and aerosol measurements is now being developed.