The airborne multi-wavelength water vapor differential absorption lidar WALES: system design and performance

Wirth, Martin; Fix, Andreas; Mahnke, Peter; Schwarzer, Horst; Schrandt, Friedrich; Ehret, Gerhard

doi:10.1007/s00340-009-3365-7

Cited by 229 publications

(235 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Some of these instruments were successfully demonstrated for the first time, e.g. the airborne Doppler lidar and WV DIAL combination of DLR Oberpfaffenhofen (Wirth et al, 2009) and the ground-based, scanning WV DIAL of UHOH .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS): the scientific strategy, the field phase, and research highlights

Wulfmeyer

Behrendt

Kottmeier

et al. 2011

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

193

136

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Within the framework of the international field campaign COPS (Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study), a large suite of state-of-the-art meteorological instrumentation was operated, partially combined for the first time. This includes networks of in situ and remote-sensing systems such as the Global Positioning System as well as a synergy of multi-wavelength passive and active remote-sensing instruments such as advanced radar and lidar systems. The COPS field phase was performed from 01 June to 31 August 2007 in a low-mountain area in southwestern Germany/eastern France covering the Vosges mountains, the Rhine valley and the Black Forest mountains. The collected data set covers the entire evolution of convective precipitation events in complex terrain from their initiation, to their development and mature phase until their decay. Eighteen Intensive Observation Periods with 37 operation days and eight additional Special Observation Periods were performed, providing a comprehensive data set covering different forcing conditions. In this article, an overview of the COPS scientific strategy, the field phase, and its first accomplishments is given. Highlights of the campaign are illustrated with several measurement examples. It is demonstrated that COPS research provides new insight into key processes leading to convection initiation and to the modification of precipitation by orography, in the improvement of quantitative precipitation forecasting by the assimilation of new observations, and in the performance of ensembles of convection-permitting models in complex terrain.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS): the scientific strategy, the field phase, and research highlights

Wulfmeyer

Behrendt

Kottmeier

et al. 2011

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

193

136

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“…System parameters of the WALES system are listed in Table 2. For a detailed technical description see Wirth et al (2009).…”

Section: Differential Absorption Lidar Walesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the first time, measurements of the airborne aerosol and water vapour DIAL WALES (Water vapour Lidar Experiment in Space; Wirth et al, 2009), operated onboard HALO during its first scientific mission (Techno-Mission) are presented. The HALO Techno-Mission took place in October and November 2010 and provided the opportunity to investigate cloud properties with two different aircraft.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…HALO was equipped with a spectrometer system operated by University of Leipzig together with an instrument for measuring the actinic flux in cooperation with Forschungszentrum Jülich (HALO-SR) (Fricke et al, 2014), an automated high-volume air sampling system (MIRAH -Measurements of Stable Isotope Ratios in Atmospheric Trace Gases on HALO) of University of Wuppertal (Krebsbach et al, 2013), and an ion trap mass spectrometer of DLR (Roiger et al, 2011). Additionally, and in the focus of this paper, the DIAL system WALES (Wirth et al, 2009) was provided by DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IPA). The campaign focused on the test of the in-flight performance of new instrumentation and validation of remote sensing instruments with in situ measurements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Potential of airborne lidar measurements for cirrus cloud studies

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Aerosol and water vapour measurements were performed with the lidar system WALES of Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt (DLR) in October and November 2010 during the first mission with the new German research aircraft G55-HALO. Curtains composed of lidar profiles beneath the aircraft show the vertical and horizontal distribution and variability of water vapour mixing ratio and backscatter ratio above Germany. Two missions on 3 and 4 November 2010 were selected to derive the water vapour mixing ratio inside cirrus clouds from the lidar instrument. A good agreement was found with in situ observations performed on a second research aircraft flying below HALO. ECMWF analysis temperature data are used to derive relative humidity fields with respect to ice (RHi) inside and outside of cirrus clouds from the lidar water vapour observations. The RHi variability is dominated by small-scale fluctuations in the water vapour fields while the temperature variation has a minor impact. The most frequent in-cloud RHi value from lidar observations is 98 %. The RHi variance is smaller inside the cirrus than outside of the cloud. 2-D histograms of relative humidity and backscatter ratio show significant differences for in-cloud and out-of-cloud situations for two different cirrus cloud regimes. Combined with accurate temperature measurements, the lidar observations have a great potential for detailed statistical cirrus cloud and related humidity studies.

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“…The Water vapour Lidar Experiment in Space (WALES) differential absorption lidar system (Wirth et al, 2009) was deployed on board the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt (DLR) Falcon. The objective of the mission on 1 August 2007 was to document the atmospheric upstream condition of the COPS area off the western coasts of France prior to a convective event that occurred in the late afternoon (Schäfler et al, 2010).…”

Section: Lidar Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐range transport of Saharan dust and its radiative impact on precipitation forecast: a case study during the Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS)

Chaboureau

Richard

Pinty

et al. 2011

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

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From Lagrangian back trajectories it was found that the dust was mobilized from sources in Mauritania six days earlier, while the dry layer subsided over the north Atlantic. Off the Moroccan coasts, the dry layer folded down beneath the dusty air mass and the two-layer structure was advected to the Rhine valley in about two days. By heating the atmosphere, the dust layer changed the static stability of the atmosphere and thus the occurrence of convection. A study of sensitivity to the radiative effect of dust showed a better prediction of precipitation when a dust prognostic scheme was used rather than climatology or when dust effects were ignored. This result suggests that dust episodes that occur prior to convective events might be important for quantitative precipitation forecasts.

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The airborne multi-wavelength water vapor differential absorption lidar WALES: system design and performance

Cited by 229 publications

References 42 publications

The Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS): the scientific strategy, the field phase, and research highlights

The Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS): the scientific strategy, the field phase, and research highlights

Potential of airborne lidar measurements for cirrus cloud studies

Long‐range transport of Saharan dust and its radiative impact on precipitation forecast: a case study during the Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS)

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