Description
Active remote sensing observations, like those from LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), can provide information on the vertical structure of atmospheric trace gases, aerosols, and clouds, complementing passive remote sensors. Lidars transmit laser pulses and measure laser light scattered back to determine the altitude of gases, aerosols, and clouds with high accuracy. This training introduces data-users to the fundamentals of lidar remote sensing, highlighting strengths, limitations and differences when compared to passive remote sensors. Case studies will be used to demonstrate how to interpret lidar imagery from a variety of past and current spaceborne lidars, including the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS), the Ice, Cloud, and Elevation Satellite, version 2 (ICESat-2), and the Earth Cloud Aerosol Radiation Experiment (EarthCARE) and provide instruction on how to acquire lidar data for analysis by the user.
By the end of this training, attendees will be able to:
- Recognize the capabilities of lidar active remote sensing in measuring vertical profiles of aerosols and clouds for informing air quality applications
- Interpret information within lidar curtains to discern cloud phase, aerosol type, and aerosol plume altitude for a given scene
- Recognize the strengths and limitations of lidar observations
- Find lidar images and data for a particular time period and location using NASA Earthdata and mission websites
- Air quality managers, air quality modelers and forecasters, commercial aviation, hazardous plume monitoring and forecasting (e.g., smoke, dust, volcanic ash), researchers, and academia.
- Three, 1.5-hour parts
- Each session will include a live Q&A session at the end
- Those who attend all three live sessions and complete the homework will receive a certificate of completion
