Abstract. We present the results of a 1-year quasioperational testing of the 1.5 µm StreamLine Doppler lidar developed by Halo Photonics from 2 October 2012 to 2 October 2013. The system was configured to continuously perform a velocity-azimuth display scan pattern using 24 azimuthal directions with a constant beam elevation angle of 75 • . Radial wind estimates were selected using a rather conservative signal-to-noise ratio based threshold of −18.2 dB (0.015). A 30 min average profile of the wind vector was calculated based on the assumption of a horizontally homogeneous wind field through a Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse of the overdetermined linear system. A strategy for the quality control of the retrieved wind vector components is outlined for ensuring consistency between the Doppler lidar wind products and the inherent assumptions employed in the wind vector retrieval. Quality-controlled lidar measurements were compared with independent reference data from a collocated operational 482 MHz radar wind profiler running in a four-beam Doppler beam swinging mode and winds from operational radiosonde measurements. The intercomparison results reveal a particularly good agreement between the Doppler lidar and the radar wind profiler, with root mean square errors ranging between 0.5 and 0.7 m s −1 for wind speed and between 5 and 10 • for wind direction. The median of the half-hourly averaged wind speed for the intercomparison data set is 8.2 m s −1 , with a lower quartile of 5.4 m s −1 and an upper quartile of 11.6 m s −1 .

This paper presents first validation results for an algorithm developed for the retrieval of integrated columnar water vapor from measurements of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on board the polar-orbiting Terra and Aqua platforms. The algorithm is based on the absorption of reflected solar radiation by atmospheric water vapor and allows the retrieval of integrated water vapor above cloud-free land surfaces. A comparison of the retrieved water vapor with measurements of the Microwave Water Radiometer at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site for a 10-month period in 2002 showed an rms deviation of 1.7 kg m−2 and a bias of 0.6 kg m−2. A comparison with radio soundings in central Europe from July 2002 to April 2003 showed an rms deviation of 2 kg m−2 and a bias of −0.8 kg m−2.

RAMSES of the Lindenberg Meteorological Observatory, Germany, is the first multipurpose lidar to routinely measure the fluorescence spectra of atmospheric aerosols. Combined with the other measurement parameters (cloud water content and optical properties, moisture and temperature), this capability allows one to study the co-existence of clouds and fluorescing aerosols for the first time. The fluorescence receiver is briefly described, and measurement examples are presented and discussed.

Abstract. Case studies of combined vertical-velocity measurements of Doppler lidar, cloud radar and wind profiler are presented. The measurements were taken at the Meteorological Observatory, Lindenberg, Germany. Synergistic products are presented that are derived from the vertical-velocity measurements of the three instruments: a comprehensive classification mask of vertically moving atmospheric targets and the terminal fall velocity of water droplets and ice crystals corrected for vertical air motion. It is shown that this combination of instruments can up-value the measurement values of each single instrument and may allow the simultaneous sensing of atmospheric targets and the motion of clear air.

On 22nd August 2018, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the first direct detection Doppler wind lidar into space. Operating at 355 nm and acquiring signals with a dual channel receiver, it allows wind observations in clear air and particle-laden regions of the atmosphere. Furthermore, particle optical properties can be obtained using the High Spectral Resolution Technique Lidar (HSRL) technique. Measuring with 87 km horizontal and 0.25-2 km vertical resolution between ground and up to 30 km in the stratosphere, the global coverage of Aeolus observations shall fill gaps in the global observing system and thus help improving numerical weather prediction. Within this contribution, first results from the German initiative for experimental Aeolus validation are presented and discussed. Ground-based wind and aerosol measurements from tropospheric radar wind profilers, Doppler wind lidars, radiosondes, aerosol lidars and cloud radars are utilized for that purpose.