Laser Ceilometer CL51 Demonstration Field Campaign Report
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Vaisala, Inc., Vantaa (Finland)
Improvements in the measurements of clouds and the ability to support observation systems are critically important to advancing our understanding and improving global climate model performance. The purpose of a demonstration of the Vaisala CL51 ceilometer was to evaluate its high-range capabilities as a possible augmentation to data provided by the CL31 ceilometer that currently is deployed at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility sites. Vaisala performed a no-cost demonstration of the equipment; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) supported the data analysis; and ARM provided logistical support, power, maintenance, etc. The laser ceilometer provided measurements of cloud-base height, vertical visibility, and backscatter profile at a vertical range of 15 km. The ceilometer demonstration was conducted during the Characterization of Cirrus and Aerosol Properties campaign (CCAP) to provide coincident observations of cirrus cloud heights and potential backscatter signals by aerosols. This campaign included deployment of a CL51 ceilometer at the ARM Facility’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site, co-located with the current CL31, micropulse lidar, and balloon-borne sounding system. Data collected from these sensors were analyzed to compare and contrast the data from the CL51 ceilometer.
- Research Organization:
- DOE Office of Science Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- Contributing Organization:
- Vaisala, Inc.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-7601830
- OSTI ID:
- 1254298
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/SC-ARM-14-042
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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