During the month of July, the Global Hydrology
and Climate Center and partners successfully demonstrated the ability to
achieve consistent and accurate atmospheric wind measurements in a series
of research aircraft flights using the Multi-center Airborne Coherent Atmospheric
Wind Sensor (MACAWS). Not only did the study provide data to better understand
the meteorological processes at work during the experiment, this project
is expected to assist in the design of a satellite to measure global winds
from space. The wind sensor, a coherent Doppler Laser Radar (Lidar), uses
pulses of laser light to measure winds from a distance. It does this by
observing frequency shifts of the backscattered light that result from the
motion of the air. Over the course of 17 flights on the NASA DC-8, the sensor
took wind measurements in Washington, Alaska, Texas and California. Measurements
of low-level winds, land-sea breeze circulation, structure of a mid-latitude
jet stream, and wind structure around a variety of cloud types were conducted.
The researchers also performed simulations of the proposed satellite Doppler
wind lidar concept. Wind velocity accuracies were observed to be roughly
1 meter per second or better. Additionally, the experiment gathered information
on the operational capabilities of the lidar's and the signal processor's
performance under less than ideal aircraft environmental conditions such
as atmospheric turbulence, various engine thrust settings, and high and
low cabin temperatures. 
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Headlinesreturn to Space Sciences Laboratory Home
Author: Paul
Meyer
Curator: Bryan Walls
NASA Official: John M. Horack