System Integration and Test Experiment (SITE) II

Where: NOAA Aircraft Operations Center, Lakeland, Florida

When: 13-23 February 2024

CSL scientists from the Atmospheric Remote Sensing group installed and tested an airborne micro-pulse Doppler (microDop) lidar system on the NOAA WP-3D aircraft to evaluate instrument performance and sensitivity. This follows the first SITE deployment in 2021 when the microDop system was tested on both the NOAA Twin Otter and NOAA WP-3D. The microDop lidar has since flown on the NOAA Twin Otter for multiple boundary layer dynamics studies ranging from wild fires to coastal urban areas.

The SITE II microDop system included a more powerful transceiver system and a new (new for CSL) side scanner. The new transceiver should provide greater data coverage while the side scanner would enable the lidar to look both above and below the aircraft. This is particularly important when the aircraft is flying inside the planetary boundary layer, as often done for air quality studies. The SITE II tests will allow scientist to evaluate the new transceiver, and optimize the side scanner.

The installation and test flights on the NOAA WP-3D are in preparation for the upcoming Airborne and Remote sensing Methane and Air Pollutant Surveys (AiRMAPS) campaign in 2026 in Texas to study greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions and impacts, but makes an airborne Doppler lidar available for future science mission on the NOAA WP-3D, a critical missing measurement capability.