MicroPulse DIAL (MPD)

The MicroPulse DIAL (MPD) is a compact, field-deployable, eye-safe lidar for continuous unattended monitoring of water vapor, temperature, and aerosols in the lower troposphere.  A network of five units exists, with four available for research advancing knowledge in a variety of areas, including boundary layer thermodynamics, convection initiation, and land-atmosphere exchange. The MicroPulse DIAL operates on the principle of lidar, employing pulsed laser radiation to probe the atmosphere. The acronym DIAL refers to the differential absorption lidar technique, which utilizes the differential absorption of light at specific wavelengths to quantify atmospheric constituents. The "MicroPulse" designation indicates the use of low power laser pulses. In essence, the MPD emits pulses of laser light into the atmosphere and subsequently, by examining the spectral characteristics and temporal behavior of the backscattered radiation, derives information from various atmospheric components. 

A multifunction DIAL/HSRL:  The MicroPulse DIAL integrates three lidar subsystems in one unit. A water vapor DIAL measures absolute humidity, a High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) measures calibrated aerosol backscatter coefficient, and an oxygen DIAL measures temperature.  These techniques provide accurate and calibration-free measurements requiring a minimal set of assumptions.

Networkable DIAL: Several design features enabled the first network of DIAL for thermodynamics.  The diode-laser-based architecture has distinct benefits: the lasers are considerably more compact, reliable, and less expensive than typically used for lidar instrumentation.  The transmitted laser beam is eye-safe and invisible (Class 1M).  For high-quality daytime operation, suppression of the solar background is achieved with a narrow receiver field-of-view and extremely narrow-band optical filters. The received light is measured with single photon counting detectors.

Specifications