Modification of the Naval Postgraduate School Lidar System

• Main Author: Gunal, Murat
• Other Authors: Cooper, Alfred W.
• Language: en_US
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School. 2013
• Subjects: refraction; lidar; Nd:YAG; radiosonde; laser; lidar profile
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/30741

The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not relfect the offical policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. === Previous modifications were made to the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Lidar System to enable comparison of lidar returns with radiosonde vertical profiles. Inaccuracies due to flexing of the lidar mounting structure limited observation of correlation between lidar and balloon data. Reconstruction with anew telescope and integral mounting now provides stable overlap of laser illumination and receiver field-of-view while maintaining eye safety. This revised system permits more measurement of profile correlation. Both day and night lidar measurement series have been compared with concurrent radiosonde launches in the Monterey Bay area. Maximum ranges from clouds greater than 3500 meters by day and greater than 5000 meters by night have been achieved. Within this range comparison can be made with moderate accuracy with the temperature and pressure profile boundary layer ceiling. Recommendations are made for future enhancement of sensitivity of correlation.