Rayleigh-Mie Doppler wind lidar for atmospheric measurements. I. Instrumental setup, validation, and first climatological results

Since 1989 Service d'Aeronomie du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifi que has used an incoherent Doppler lidar technique for wind measurements in the atmosphere. A new-generation Rayleigh-Mie Doppler lidar has been desig ned and is currently operated at the Observatoire de Haute Provence (France ). We give a detailed description of this instrument and highlight two impo rtant upgrades leading to quasi-simultaneous and absolute measurements of t he wind from approximate to 8 to 50 km altitude. The possible sources of er ror are identified and quantified in terms of accuracy in the wind determin ation. Experimental results are given in detail, and a validation of the me asurements is performed with the help of ancillary data. A first climatolog ical description of the mean wind is briefly reported. (C) 1999 Optical Soc iety of America.