Lidar algorithms and technique in 3D scanning for planetary boundary layer height and single-beam-single-pointing wind speed retrieval

Appl Opt. 2019 Mar 20;58(9):2284-2293. doi: 10.1364/AO.58.002284.

Abstract

Planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) and wind speed measurement are most important to meteorology for accurate weather forecasting and also forecasting for personnel-human safety in public places such as airports, camps, cities, etc. According to the location of the measurements, weather phenomena can change PBLH and wind speed values in a small amount of time; and so, accurate measurement of those, especially in longer distances gathered with lower budgets, is most welcome from societies. Different techniques have been developed through the years in order to detect these parameters safely, with the most effective ones to be the expensive, radiosonde method for PBLH and the Doppler method for wind measurements, with in situ measurements. In this work, we present new algorithms and techniques, to the best of our knowledge, in order to provide PBLH with a single beam by a 3D lidar in vertical and slant pointing for wider areas measured in the sky and wind speed measurements in 2D and calculated 3D, from respected distances without any Doppler equipment on board. They are adjustable by the user in order to work automatically at any location and time of the year and at any pointing of the lidar's beam. "UNIFORM" technique, "METCON PBLH", "SIBESMEA", and "WIND METCON" algorithms can be found extremely helpful for airport tower controllers, atmospheric scientists, and the meteorological/remote sensing community, as well as for the "aviation and space" community via novel single-beam pointing measurement techniques.