Development of an airborne lidar for characterizing particle distribution in the atmosphere. Final report

Technical Report · Mon Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5128438· OSTI ID:5128438

Uthe, E. E.; Jimison, W. L.; Nielsen, N. B.

A two-wavelength (0.53 and 1.06 ..mu..m) airborne lidar system was constructed and field tested. The ALPHA-1 (Airborne Lidar Plume and Haze Analyzer) was designed to observe smoke plume and atmospheric boundary layer particles over large areas. A data-processing system was designed for both real-time facsimile (gray-scale) display and magnetic tape recording. Multiple microcomputers were used to optimize processing capabilities within the power, weight, and size constraints of medium-sized twin-engine aircraft. A one-week field program was conducted to evaluate ALPHA-1 performance and reliability. The system successfully observed boundary layer structure over the Los Angeles area and the downwind structure of particulate plumes from the Navajo (Page, Arizona) and Four Corners (Farmington, New Mexico) power plants. Except for one system failure, ALPHA-1 performed very well on its first data-collection mission. The data show the importance of terrain features in establishing particle distributions over urban areas and downwind of large power plants.

• Research Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA (USA). Atmospheric Science Center
• OSTI ID: 5128438
• Report Number(s): EPRI-EA-1538
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AERIAL MONITORING
AEROSOL MONITORING
AIR POLLUTION MONITORS
BOUNDARY LAYERS
CALIFORNIA
DESIGN
DISTRIBUTION
FIELD TESTS
LAYERS
LOS ANGELES
MAGNETIC STORAGE DEVICES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MEMORY DEVICES
MICROPROCESSORS
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
OPTICAL RADAR
OPTIMIZATION
PLUMES
POWER PLANTS
RADAR
RANGE FINDERS
REAL TIME SYSTEMS
RECOMMENDATIONS
TESTING
USA
USES
WESTERN REGION