Lidar Research during the First Stage of the 89th Cruise of the R/V “Academic Mstislav Keldysh”

A lidar survey of the western part of the Kara Sea was carried out in September 2022. The shipborne radiometric (profiling) lidar PLD-1 was used. The lidar optical unit was located on the 8th deck of the R/V ‘Akademik Mstislav Keldysh’ at an altitude of 15 m above the water surface. Lidar sounding was carried out at stations and underway. The vessel route passed through water areas characterized by a wide range of changes in hydrooptical characteristics. Lidar measurements were accompanied by synchronized measurements of hydrooptical and hydrological characteristics. These measurements were carried out using submersible instruments at stations and using a flow-through measuring complex along the ship's route. The hydrooptical characteristics vertical distribution uniformity in the upper ten-meter layer was controlled remotely using underway lidar data.Good agreement between the spatial distributions of the lidar echo signals parameters, of the hydrooptical and of the hydrological characteristics (coincidence of the locations of various distribution features, local maxima, minima and frontal zones) was demonstrated. A large volume of measurement data has been obtained, which allows for further statistical processing in order to find relationships between the parameters of lidar echo signals and hydrooptical characteristics recorded by contact methods.