Title: HSRL for Aerosols, Winds, and Clouds using Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar (HAWC-OAWL)
Presenting Author: Sara Tucker
Organization: Ball Aerospace

Abstract:
With the aim of improving weather and air-quality forecasts, a 3D-Winds Doppler Wind Lidar (DWL) mission holds promise to provide global observations of range-resolved wind profiles, particularly in data-starved regions over the oceans, southern hemisphere, and the tropics. To help address this need, Ball Aerospace-developed a Doppler lidar receiver using Optical Autocovariance (OA) to measure wind-induced Doppler shifts from aerosol backscattered laser light. With funding from the NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), Ball developed the receiver into the Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar (OAWL). In subsequent ground-validation and autonomous aircraft flight tests the OAWL was shown to successfully measure winds from aerosol backscatter. Although the OAWL system design can be built to operate at any laser wavelength, the original system was demonstrated at the 355 nm wavelength. Under the newly awarded IIP HAWC-OAWL (HSRL for Aerosols Winds and Clouds using OAWL) Ball will a) optimize the OAWL system for airborne operation, b) demonstrate airborne measurement of winds at both the 355 nm and 532 nm wavelengths to compare their measurement coverage, c) provide measurements of aerosol properties, and d) demonstrate the two-look approach to measuring horizontal wind speed and direction. We will review the progress from early development and validation of OAWL and will present early designs and science demonstration plans for the HAWC-OAWL system.