EOMF-28. Doppler Lidar Measurements from the NOAA Twin Otter using a Hemispheric Scanner

Abstract
Combining Doppler wind lidars with mobile platforms such as; aircraft, research vessels, and ground based vehicles, enables studies of both temporal and spatial variability of wind fields, yielding critical information for transport, mixing, and dynamics occurring in complex flows. While mobile measurements have many positive attributes, to perform meaningful measurements from mobile platforms requires careful design and planning of the installation and measurement to remove and compensate for platform motion projected into the line of sight velocity measurement. In Summer 2021 the Atmospheric Remote Sensing Group (ARS) deployed a Doppler lidar the NOAA Twin Otter aircraft. This installation featured a hemispheric scanner designed to extend out the side window of the aircraft. The scanner can perform upward and downward looking scans and motion compensated stares, allowing for more complete measurement coverage particularly when flying at low altitudes to coordinate with in-situ sampling in the boundary layer. This presentation will focus on the challenges associated with the deployment of Doppler lidars on aircraft, the validation of this instrument against concurrent measurements from ground based Doppler radar, and conclude with an upcoming application of the system for wildfire measurements.