Development of high spectral resolution iron Boltzmann lidar

Abstract

An initial iron (Fe) Boltzmann lidar was developed in winter 2000-2001 at Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR). This resonance lidar system supported Fe concentration measurements. An initial Fe Boltzmann temperature measurement was made in December 2000. This initial system was fundamentally limited by the 1 pm tuning resolution of the laser. During the winter of 2001-2002, a control system was developed to increase the resolution of the laser tuning to 0.09 pm. Fe cooncentration and Fe Boltzmann temperature measurements were made and an experimental analysis of the measurements was developed. This thesis presents lidar observations of the mesospheric Fe layer over these two winters, the principle of Boltzmann Fe lidar, the design and validation of the new laser tuning capability and the new temperature measurements. A complete error analysis is also presented. This full engineering analysis demonstrates that the tuning control system yields significant improvements in both the Fe concentration and temperature measurements.