Future performance of ground-based and airborne water-vapor differential absorption lidar. II. Simulations of the precision of a near-infrared, high-power system

Taking into account Poisson, background, amplifier, and speckle noise, we c an simulate the precision of water-vapor measurements by using a 10-W avera ge-power differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system. This system is curren tly under development at Hohenheim University, Germany, and at the American National Center for Atmospheric Research. For operation in the 940-nm regi on, a large set of measurement situations is described, including configura tions that are considered for the first time to the authors' knowledge. The y include ultrahigh-resolution measurements in the surface layer (resolutio ns, 1.5 m and 0.1 s) and vertically pointing measurements (resolutions, 30 m and 1 s) from the ground to 2 km in the atmospheric boundary layer. Even during daytime, the DIAL system will have a measurement range from the grou nd to the upper troposphere (300 m, 10 min) that can be extended from a mou ntain site to the lower stratosphere. From the ground, for the first time o f which the authors are aware, three-dimensional fields of water vapor in t he boundary layer can be investigated within a range of the order of 15 km and with an averaging time of 10 min. From an aircraft, measurements of the atmospheric boundary layer (60 m, 1 s) can be performed from a height of 4 km to the ground. At higher altitudes, up to 18 km, water-vapor profiles c an still be obtained from aircraft height level to the ground. When it is b eing flown either in the free troposphere or in the stratosphere, the syste m will measure horizontal water-vapor profiles up to 12 km. We are not awar e of another remote-sensing technique that provides, simultaneously, such h igh resolution and accuracy. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.