COHERENT CO2 LIDARS FOR MEASURING WIND VELOCITY AND ATMOSPHERIC-TURBULENCE

We have developed two coherent lidar systems based on cw and TEA CO2 l asers. The lidars have been tested and applied for the atmospheric win d velocity measurements. We have elaborated and experimentally verifie d a new method of nondestructive long-range measurement of the paramet ers of the atmospheric turbulence with a cw Doppler lidar (DL). The me thod is based on certain processing of the heterodyne Doppler spectra. In addition to the wind velocity magnitude, the method yields the val ue of the velocity structure constant. The method has been experimenta lly verified. Some results of applications of the DL for detecting art ificially generated vortexes (aircraft traveling vortexes) and disting uishing them from natural winds and turbulence based on a comparison o f the magnitudes of the velocity structure constant are presented.