Lidar Characterization of Boundary Layer Transport and Mixing for Estimating Urban-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions

¹ Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado/NOAA, Boulder CO, 80305 USA
² NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, CSD, Boulder, CO 80305
³ Purdue University, Lafayette, IN USA
⁴ Pennsylvania State University, College Station, PA USA
⁵ National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA

^* Email: mike.hardesty@noaa.gov

Published online: 7 June 2016

Abstract

A compact commercial Doppler lidar has been deployed in Indianapolis for two years to measure wind profiles and mixing layer properties as part of project to improve greenhouse measurements from large area sources. The lidar uses vertical velocity variance and aerosol structure to measure mixing layer depth. Comparisons with aircraft and the NOAA HRDL lidar generally indicate good performance, although sensitivity might be an issue under low aerosol conditions.