Ceilometer and Lidar Measurements of Atmospheric Trends, Coupling Between Atmospheric Layers, and Atmospheric Particulates

探索基金中提议的调查将提高我们对地球气候中四个关键组成部分的趋势的理解：温度、水蒸气、臭氧和气溶胶，如森林火灾烟雾颗粒。这些趋势将主要通过激光雷达(激光雷达)的测量来评估，激光雷达可以测量从地表到整个大气层到110公里高度的这些数量。可用于这些研究的测量包括位于西安大略大学附近的激光雷达、位于西校区的Ceileter(一种紧凑的自动化激光雷达系统)、位于瑞士的水蒸气气溶胶和温度激光雷达RALMO以及位于法国尤里卡、努纳武特和普罗旺斯高级天文台的Dial臭氧和拉曼-瑞利激光雷达。这些激光雷达是大气气候变化探测网络(NDACC)的一部分。*我的7名研究生组成的小组从事大气激光雷达技术的各个方面的工作，从硬件设计到开发用于提取大气数量的先进处理技术。这些技术可以应用于现有的和新的测量，并将提供给科学界，特别是我们在NDACC的同事，NDACC是一个致力于研究中低层大气气候变化的国际大气传感器计划。我们还将研究平流层-对流层交换，即大气较低部分，对流层中的空气被提升到平流层，在那里它可以在下降到对流层之前被传输到很远的距离。这类事件可能会导致污染的中纬度空气混合到尤里卡清洁的北极大气中。*我还在积极寻求使用低成本天花板(自动激光雷达)进行测量，以提高我们对云层、污染物、森林火灾烟雾和火山尘埃的理解。我们的天花板测量仪是由20个成员国组成的国际合作的一部分，该合作开发了一个由校准天花板和激光雷达组成的测量网络。尘埃和烟雾颗粒可以传播很远的距离，今年夏天，我们在安大略省伦敦的仪器测量了艾伯塔省和不列颠哥伦比亚省火灾产生的烟雾。我们的合作者的测量显示，其中一些烟雾最终被输送到了欧洲。*总而言之，我提出了一个计划，利用从表面到空间边缘的高时间-空间分辨率激光雷达测量来提高我们对天气和气候的理解。除了科学研究外，这项研究还将用于改善我们对火灾烟雾和火山灰运输的了解，包括实时测量/监测可能影响健康(通过警告空气质量不佳)和安全(通过警告可能影响飞机飞行走廊的高空颗粒物)的情况。

The investigations proposed in this Discovery Grant will improve our understanding of trends in four key components in Earth's climate: temperature, water vapour, ozone and aerosols such as forest fire smoke particles. The trends will be assessed from measurements primarily by lidars (laser radars), which can measure these quantities from the surface throughout the atmosphere to altitudes of 110km. Measurements available for these studies include those from a lidar located near The University of Western Ontario, a ceilometer (a compact, automated lidar system) located on the Western campus, a water-vapour aerosol and temperature lidar, RALMO, located in Switzerland, and DIAL ozone and Raman-Rayleigh lidars in Eureka, Nunavut and the Observatory of Haute Provence in France. These lidars are part of the Network for Detection of Atmospheric Climate Change (NDACC).***My diverse group of 7 graduate students works in all facets of atmospheric lidar techniques, from hardware design to developing advanced processing techniques for the retrieval of atmospheric quantities. These techniques can be applied to existing as well as new measurements, and will be made available to the scientific community, in particular our colleagues in NDACC, an international program of atmospheric sensors dedicated to studying climate change in the lower and middle atmosphere. We will also study stratosphere-troposphere exchange, whereby air in the lower part of the atmosphere, the troposphere, is lifted into the stratosphere, where it can be transported great distances before descending back into the troposphere. Such events can cause polluted middle latitude air to be mixed into the clean Arctic atmosphere in Eureka.***I am also actively pursuing the use of low-cost ceilometers (automated lidars) for measurements that will improve our understanding of clouds, pollutants, forest fire smoke, and volcanic dust. Our ceilometer is part of an international collaboration of 20 member nations developing a measurement network of calibrated ceilometers and lidars. Dust and smoke particles can travel a great distance, and this summer our instrument in London, Ontario measured smoke from fires in Alberta and British Columbia. Measurements by our collaborators showed some of this smoke was eventually transported as far as Europe. ***In summary, I propose a program to improve our understanding of weather and climate using high temporal-spatial resolution lidar measurements from the surface to the edge of space. In addition to scientific studies, the research will be applied to improving our understanding of fire smoke and volcanic ash transport, including real-time measurements/monitoring of situations which can affect health (via warnings of poor air quality) and safety (via warnings of lofted particulates which can affect aircraft flight corridors).