BackForwardInstrument:  ACDL 

Instrument details
Acronym ACDL
Full name Aerosol and Carbon Detection Lidar
Purpose To measure CO2 total column and aerosol characteristics.
Short description For CO2 a pulsed dual-wavelength lidar alternately emits two pulsed lasers near 1572 nm in a sequential manner one in the CO2 absorption line and one off the line. For aerosol detection a high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) at 532 and 1064 nm.
Background New instrument developed by Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM. More details here: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12162570
Scanning Technique Nadir viewing
Resolution Spatial 50 m (land), 100 m (sea), sampled every 333m.
Coverage / Cycle Global coverage 16 days
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency CNSA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2022 to 2033
Last update: 2022-07-18
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Active and radio-occultation sensor
  • Lidar (Doppler lidar, backscatter lidar, lidar Dial, lidar altimeter)
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 2
  • Lidar (Doppler and dual/triple-frequency backscatter)
  • Lidar (Backscatter - for atmosphere)
  • Trace gas lidars
  • Lidar (DIAL - for trace gases)
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Aerosol Optical Depth
  • Aerosol column burden
  • Aerosol effective radius
  • Aerosol mass mixing ratio
  • Aerosol type
  • Aerosol volcanic ash
  • Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column
  • CO2 mole fraction
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Aerosol column burden*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Aerosol effective radius*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Aerosol mass mixing ratio*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Aerosol Optical Depth*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Aerosol type*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Cloud drop effective radius5 - marginalLow-density cloud only.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Cloud ice2 - very highLow-density cloud only.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Cloud ice Total Column2 - very highLow-density cloud only.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Cloud ice effective radius5 - marginalLow-density cloud only.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Cloud liquid water (CLW)4 - fairLow-density cloud only.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Cloud liquid water (CLW) total column4 - fairLow-density cloud only.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Cloud optical depth1 - primaryLow-density cloud only.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Cloud top height1 - primaryAlong-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
CO2 mole fraction*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Along-track only.DIAL, specifically designed for CO2 observation
Freezing level height in clouds2 - very highLow-density cloud only.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar. Detected as discontinuity
Height of the top of PBL2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Height of the tropopause2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Melting layer depth in clouds2 - very highLow-density cloud only.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar. Detected as discontinuity
PSC occurrence1 - primaryAlong-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Aerosol volcanic ash*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Along-track only.VIS/NIR backscatter lidar