A wind speed and fluctuation simulator for characterizing the wind lidar correlation method

Abstract

Aerosol distribution in the atmosphere is used as a wind-tracer by lidars since it is drifted by the wind and respond to its changes. Two methods are used: the correlation and the Doppler method. This first one is easier and cheaper to implement than the latter. It makes it competitive for retrieving wind speed profiles or estimating wind turbulence. However, its accuracy decreases significantly as the distance from the optical radiation source increases, hence the need to characterize the method by means of wind field profile simulations and validate it by comparing the retrieval of real wind velocities with that of cooperative instruments such as radiosoundings. In this paper, the bases of a 2D lidar signal simulator are presented. The relationship between wind fields and the aerosol concentration dynamics, and the way they relate to lidar signal returns is explained. The first results of the application of the correlation method for the retrieval of wind velocities from real data at the UPC are presented and compared to radiosoundings measurements.