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Airborne Lidar Operations

Instrument Specifications

Airborne Excimer Ozone Differential Absorption Lidar (ABDIAL)
Measures:ozone, aerosol backscatter
Spatial coverage:nadir-looking lidar on aircraft
Range:surface - 2.5 km
Resolution:90 m (ozone), 15 m (aerosol)

Platform: ABDIAL installed on DC-3 aircraft

Availability: 18 August - 15 September 2000

Flight Hours: 64

Flight Level: 3000 - 3500 m ASL

Endurance: up to 8 hours

Major objectives:

  • Map out ozone/aerosol distribution over Houston metro area
  • Effect of gulf and bay breezes on pollution
  • Investigate point sources

Strategy:

  • On days with favorable conditions, fly 2 short missions (3 - 4 hours) or a long mission (6 hours or more), then stand down for a few days.
    • provides good documentation of temporal evolution of ozoneand aerosol distribution
    • avoids cloud interference by concentrating flights on cleardays