Observing atmospheric convection with dual-scanning lidars

Abstract

While convection is a key process in the development of the atmospheric boundary layer, conventional meteorological measurement approaches fall short in capturing the evolution of the complex dynamics of convection. To obtain deeper observational insight into convection, we assess the potential of a dual-lidar approach. We present the capability of two pre-processing procedures, an advanced clustering filter instead of a simple threshold filter and a temporal interpolation, to increase data availability and reduce errors in the individual lidar observations that would be amplified in the dual-lidar retrieval. To evaluate the optimal balance between spatial and temporal resolution to sufficiently resolve convective properties, we test a set of scan configurations. We deployed the dual-lidar setup at two Norwegian airfields in a different geographic setting and demonstrate its capabilities as a proof of concept. We present a retrieval of the convective flow field in a vertical plane above the airfield for each of these setups. The advanced data filtering and temporal interpolation approaches show an improving effect on the data availability and quality and are applied to the observations used in the dual-lidar retrieval. All tested angular resolutions captured the relevant spatial features of the convective flow field, and balance between resolutions can be shifted towards a higher temporal resolution. Based on the evaluated cases, we show that the dual-lidar approach sufficiently resolves and provides valuable insight into the dynamic properties of atmospheric convection.