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Instrument details
Acronym
ALADIN
Full name
Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument
Purpose
Wind profiles in clear air, inside optically thin cloud and aerosol layers and on top of optically thick clouds.. Also providing atmospheric backscatter and extinction coefficient profiles at 355 nm down to ground or optically thick clouds
Short description
Single-wavelength (355 nm), side-looking (35° off-nadir). Pulsed laser source (50 Hz), High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) discriminating atmospheric and particle atmospheric returns (measures Rayleigh and Mie winds)
Background
New development
Scanning Technique
No scanning. Pulse echoes averaged over 87 km along the satellite track. FOV: 15 m footprint on ground. Continuous sampling
Resolution
Horizontal: 87 km continuous sampling. Vertical: from 250 m in the PBL to 2 km at ~ 20 km. Vertical sampling variable and possible up to 30 km
Coverage / Cycle
Global coverage: 16 orbits per day, weekly repeat cycle
Mass
500 kg
Power
840 W
Data Rate
11 kbps
Providing Agency
ESA
Instrument Maturity
Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period:
2018-11-11 to ≥2021
Last update:
2021-06-15
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 - for wind)
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
Secondary mission objectives Aerosol Optical Depth Aerosol column burden Aerosol mass mixing ratio Opportunity objectives Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column Show all Show fewer
Tentative 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
Variable Relevance for measuring this variable Operational limitations Explanation
Aerosol column burden 2 - very high Cloud sensitive.. Radial, along-view only. Secondary information from Doppler lidar wind profiler
Aerosol mass mixing ratio 2 - very high Cloud sensitive.. Radial, along-view only. Secondary information from Doppler lidar wind profiler
Aerosol Optical Depth 2 - very high Cloud sensitive.. Radial, along-view only. Secondary information from Doppler lidar wind profiler
Aerosol volcanic ash 2 - very high Cloud sensitive.. Radial, along-view only. Opportunity information from Doppler lidar wind profiler
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column 2 - very high Cloud sensitive.. Radial, along-view only. Opportunity information from Doppler lidar wind profiler
Wind (horizontal) 1 - primary Cloud sensitive.. Radial, along-view only. Side-looking UV Doppler lidar for aerosol and air molecules scattering
Instrument: ALADIN