Lidar for High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Environmental Monitoring: FY21 Technical Investment Program
Abstract
Aerosols are both direct radiative forcing agents, scattering solar radiation back to space and absorbing solar and terrestrial radiation, and indirect radiative forcing agents, modifying the albedo of clouds. Tropospheric aerosols are thought to account for tilde 80 percent of aerosol radiative forcing, but the contribution from stratospheric aerosols is highly uncertain; the radiative forcing due to stratospheric aerosols is suggested to be uncertain by plus minus 100 percent. This uncertainty stems from a poor understanding of the composition, and hence complex refractive index, of the aerosol. Improving our observation capabilities of stratospheric aerosols could help reduce their radiative forcing uncertainty. This study evaluated the feasibility of placing a bistatic lidar on a pair of high-altitude UAVs to retrieve the properties of the stratosphere's aerosol.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 18, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1229332
Entities
People
- Charles A. Primmerman
- David S. Wolinski
- J. A. Dykema
- Jesmin Khan
- Jonathan B. Ashcom
- Matthew C. Stowe
- Tso Yee Fan
- William D. Herzog
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology