Optical metrology equipment for climatologists and meteorologists
The laser ceilometer from JENOPTIK Laser, Optik, Systeme GmbH measures such atmospheric parameters as cloud height, visibility and the height of a planetary boundary layer. The product provides the first ever metrological device to safely detect also cloud layers and cirrus clouds at height levels up to 15 kilometers. This marks a major progress in the science of meteorological and climatologic forecasting. Measurement is accomplished with an opto-electronic laser sensor that relies on the LIDAR principle, an optical version of radar: A solid-state laser emits light pulses into the atmosphere. The light which is scattered by air and aerosol molecules is collected with a specific optical setup to be detected by a highly sensitive photo receiver (APD). By analyzing the pulse transit time and the intensity of backscattered light portions, smart algorithms compute a high-resolution aerosol height profile along with other related measurement readings. With integrated heating and cooling functionality and designed for autonomous operation, the CHM 15k can be relied to perform in any weather conditions.
