MicroPulse DIAL (MPD) – a Diode-Laser-Based Lidar Architecturefor Quantitative Atmospheric Profiling

Abstract. Continuous water vapor and temperature profiles are critically needed for improved understanding of the lower atmosphere and potential advances in weather forecasting skill. Ground-based, national-scale profiling networks are part of a suite of instruments to provide such observations; however, the technological method must be cost-effective and quantitative. We have been developing an active remote sensing technology based on a diode-laser-based lidar architecture to address this observational need. Narrowband, high spectral fidelity diode lasers enable accurate and calibration-free measurements requiring a minimal set of assumptions based on direct absorption (Beer-Lambert law) and a ratio of two signals. These well-proven quantitative methods are known as differential absorption lidar (DIAL) and the high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL). This diode-laser-based architecture, characterized by less powerful laser transmitters than those historically used for atmospheric studies, can be made eye-safe and robust. Nevertheless, it also requires solar background suppression techniques such as narrow field-of-view receivers with an ultra-narrow bandpass to observe individual photons backscattered from the atmosphere. We will discuss this diode-laser-based lidar architecture's latest generation and analyze how it addresses a national-scale profiling network's need to provide continuous thermodynamic observations.