Lidar Developments in NOAA’s Optical Remote Sensing Group

Seminar by
Dr. Sara Tucker
CIRES & NOAA
Boulder, Colorado

Abstract:
The Optical Remote Sensing group in NOAA’s Environmental Technology
Laboratory designs, builds, and deploys several different lidars in
studies of atmospheric dynamics and chemical processes. I will briefly
describe the various lidars and their atmospheric applications before
providing detail on the recent developments in our two boundary layer
Doppler lidars: the High Resolution Doppler Lidar (HRDL) and the
mini-MOPA Doppler lidar. Developments for HRDL include optical
fiber-based upgrades to the receiver and slave transmitter to make the
system more compact and robust. Model and experimental evaluation
results for a mini-MOPA short pulse velocity bias will be presented
along with application and evaluation of various system error estimation
methods.

Bio:
Sara Tucker received her BS, MS and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from
the University of Colorado where she specialized in optical imaging
systems and digital signal processing. Her graduate work included design
and implementation of hybrid incoherent-optical/digital imaging systems
and matrix modeling of partially coherent optical systems.” After a
short post-doctoral position, she spent two years at Coherent
Technologies, Inc. working on lidar system modeling and analysis as well
as transmitter design and implementation. Ms. Tucker then joined CIRES
at CU and currently enjoys working with the Optical Remote Sensing group
in the Environmental Technology Laboratory at NOAA, designing, building,
analyzing, and deploying Doppler lidar systems.