What was the purpose of WALEX 2005?

Design and performance studies for satellite missions measuring water vapour (e.g. WALES or SPACE-WAVES) require information on the real 2D structure of water vapour and aerosol/clouds in the troposphere, which can only be provided with sufficiently high spatial resolution and coverage by airborne water vapour lidar measurements. In this context the objective of WALEX 2005 is to extend the acquisition of representative lidar measurements of water vapour and aerosol/cloud properties to sub-Tropical and Tropical regions in the Indian Ocean and Micronesia, regions characterised by monsoon and intense inner tropical circulation.

What was the outcome of WALEX 2005?

Following the result obtained in the frame of this study, the following recommendations can be drawn. First, the study proves once again that high quality aerosol and humidity lidar observations can be gained from long-range ferry flights. Such airborne data, especially if gathered in data-sparse regions such as southeast Asia, are of high relevance for predicting and optimising the performance of future spaceborne lidar instruments.

Next opportunities will be during transfer and local measurements flights to field campaigns, especially in the frame of THORPEX, a global research programme dedicated to reduce the risk of high-impact weather to the society, the economy and the environment under the auspices of the WMO. One of the key issues of THORPEX is to test new observing strategies for remote sensing instruments to obtain data in data-sparse regions.

Download the WALEX 2005 Final Report

Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-piwcxr0 - WALEX: "Technical Support for the Acquisition of Water Vapour DIAL and Aerosol Measurements: Water Vapour Lidar Experiment WALEX 2005 "

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