The operation of AMALi requires experienced personnel on board the aircraft. AMALi is a CLASS IV Laser Product. Exposure to the laser radiation is very dangerous and may cause severe damage to eyes and skin. This even applies to diffuse radiation. CONTACT WITH THE LASER BEAM MUST BE AVOIDED AT ALL TIMES! |
The Airborne Mobile Aerosol Lidar (AMALi) provides profiles of the total backscatter at two wavelengths, from which aerosol and cloud properties are derived. It measures also the linear depolarization of the backscattered return, allowing for the discrimination of thermodynamic cloud phase and the identification of the presence of non-spherical aerosol particles. A single laptop computer fully controls the laser, transient recorders, detectors, and data acquisition, including storage, processing, quick-look evaluation and display programs utilizing LabVIEW software. |
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The AMALi system comprises the optical unit with a Nd:YAG Laser configured by the company Big Sky Laser, Montana, USA. Additionally, the operation of AMALi requires the installation of a laser control unit, a data aquisition unit and a power distribution. The device is handled with an operator PC. Quartz glass windows are installed in the cabin roof or in the underfloor compartment depending on installation direction.
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