Atmospheric Properties in the Tropical Pacific from Raman Lidar

Surface-atmosphere interactions are dynamical processes that have for the first time been observed in four dimensions by a ship-board scanning water vapor Raman lidar. Until recently, critical boundary layer variables such as water vapor have been estimated from time-series data collected by point sensors on buoys, radiosondes, ships, or aircraft. In contrast, the scanning water vapor Raman lidar has been used to evaluate the spatial as well as temporal characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) with resolution previously unavailable to atmospheric researchers. On two oceanic experiments in 1993 and 1996, the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) team made detailed measurements of boundary layer behavior in the Tropical Pacific, relating sea surface temperature (SST) to boundary layer height, latent energy flux, and intermittent convective structures above the ocean surface. The analysis of the data from these experiments are contributing to the body of knowledge focusing upon the complex dynamics within the ocean-atmosphere interface.