NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
The Multi-Center Airborne Coherent Atmospheric Wind Sensor, MACAWSIn 1992 the atmospheric lidar remote sensing groups of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, NOAA Environmental Technology Laboratory, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory began a joint collaboration to develop an airborne high-energy Doppler laser radar (lidar) system for atmospheric research and satellite validation and simulation studies. The result is the Multi-center Airborne Coherent Atmospheric Wind Sensor, MACAWS, which has the capability to remotely sense the distribution of wind and absolute aerosol backscatter in the troposphere and lower stratosphere. A factor critical to the programmatic feasibility and technical success of this collaboration has been the utilization of existing components and expertise which were developed for previous atmospheric research by the respective institutions. The motivation for the MACAWS program Is three-fold: to obtain fundamental measurements of sub-synoptic scale processes and features which may be used as a basis to improve sub-grid scale parameterizations in large-scale models; to obtain similar datasets in order to improve the understanding and predictive capabilities on the mesoscale; and to validate (simulate) the performance of existing (planned) satellite-borne sensors. Examples of the latter include participation in the validation of the NASA Scatterometer and the assessment of prospective satellite Doppler lidar for global tropospheric wind measurement. Initial flight tests were made in September 1995; subsequent flights were made in June 1996 following improvements. This paper describes the MACAWS instrument, principles of operation, examples of measurements over the eastern Pacific Ocean and western United States, and future applications.
Document ID
19990064336
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Rothermel, Jeffry
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Cutten, Dean R.
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL United States)
Hardesty, R. Michael
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Boulder, CO United States)
Menzies, Robert T.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Howell, James
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Boulder, CO United States)
Johnson, Steven C.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Tratt, David M.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Olivier, Lisa D.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Boulder, CO United States)
Banta, Robert M.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Boulder, CO United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1997
Publication Information
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Subject Category
Environment Pollution
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available