Abstract
A scintillation-based optical technique for the measurement of the average wind velocity across a laser light beam is presented and first results are shown. A low-power HeNelaser beaming horizontally over several hundred meters through the atmosphere shows a typical optical scintillation pattern produced by atmospheric turbulence, which drifts with the transverse wind. With a simple 1-bit-correlator the laser light intensity arriving at two sensors closely spaced is analysed. From physical principles of wave propagation through a medium with refraction index irregularities the covariance of light intensity at two points can be shown to be proportional to the integral wind velocity over the light path. This instrument has the advantage over conventional wind measuring devices that it leads to an average wind information with a larger volume of representativity. Beaming across a valley, the instrument is abel to measure the total mass budget of in-and out-flow of air masses. In combination with a DOAS-system (differential optical absorption spectrometer for measuring low concentrations of atmospheric trace gases) measuring over the same path, it is also possible to calculate the mass flux of a specific species (e.g. NO 2 or O 3) perpendicular to the beam.
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© 1994 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Graber, W.K., Furger, M. (1994). Laser Wind Sensing: Wind Measurement by Optical Scintillation Methods. In: Werner, C., Waidelich, W. (eds) Laser in der Umweltmeßtechnik / Laser in Remote Sensing. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-08252-2_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-08252-2_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-57443-9
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