通过微脉冲激光雷达增强全球航空安全性

Sigma Space Staff

Volcanic ash is a recurring impediment to normal air-traffic operations in Europe, Asia and South America due to potential jet engine damage caused by the razor-sharp particles in dense ash plumes.

A notable example is the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland that shut-down air traffic throughout Western Europe for seven days, with intermittent closings necessary as new ash plumes continued to enter the European airspace. More than 300 airports were closed, 100,000 flights were cancelled, and 10 million passengers were impacted. This economic disaster prompted research organizations to place more emphasis on developing effective volcanic ash monitoring systems.

Evaluation of aerosols detection networks for aviation

To address the need for better information about volcanic ash events, the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) asked Météo-France (MF), the French national meteorological service, to focus on the ash issue. MF set out to确定提供有关从地面到最低12公里高度的火山颗粒大小和浓度的准确信息的最佳方法。

随后的研究工作包括以下活动：

• 跟踪大气中的火山灰或灰尘的羽毛

• Understanding local air quality

• Providing warnings to air traffic controllers, meteorologists, and industrial sites related to aerosol events

During the summer of 2012, using desert dust as a proxy, MF collected data provided by several LiDAR sensors and ceilometers and in-situ measurements using balloon-borne particle counters and aircraft sensors to assess their effectiveness in tracking aerosols.

使用各种传感器和仪器的相关位置，数值天气预测（NWP）用于forecast different synoptic weather, considering the following factors:

• 主航线附近

• 来自冰岛和意大利火山散发的地中海的大西洋海岸的覆盖范围

• 对Mocage（ModéleDeChimie de Grande Echelle）的影响，法国化学物种传输模型

Results of Network Study Point to MiniMPL

在MF进行了初步评估之后，研究了几种网络设计，以确定哪种网络设计提供了最佳的成本/收益率。根据成本和健壮性的标准，MF购买了六个Sigma Space MiniMPL LiDAR sensors。

“We decided to place five of the MiniMPL in fixed locations at Lille, Trappes, Brest, Momuy and Aleria,”said JeanLuc Lampin, Studies and Development Engineer MétéoFrance.“第六个最小值被保存为移动激光雷达。如果发生灰烬事件，火山灰咨询中心将根据大气循环和羽流的位置来确定最佳的部署地点，以获得最佳的覆盖范围。”

将来，库存将添加其他MPL，以扩大覆盖范围并开发全面的全国网络。

MiniMPL提供了新的大气细节至关重要to aviation safety

MF的3,100名员工专注于开发基础设施和领先的技术，以收集气象观察，以更好地了解当前的大气状态。大气研究对于安全的机场运营至关重要。

改善全球和区域气候模型nd forecasting, MF operates a hybrid network of aerosol LiDAR sensors with a re-deployable mobile component for volcanic ash early warning and detection.

The MiniMPL’s ability to automatically测量去极化makes表征研究人员可行的气溶胶类型。

“The MiniMPL network is performing very well for MétéoFrance,”Sigma Space的光学工程总监Yunhui Zheng说。“By continuously monitoring the atmosphere with a network of depolarization LiDAR sensors, possible air-traffic interruptions due to volcanic ash or major dust events can be prevented or mitigated.”

The MiniMPL uses a laser with a范围高达15公里, as well as dual polarization. The dual polarization backscatter measurements allow for very high accuracy — better than 0.7 per cent. This data enables authorities to区分纯净水云的发生以及火山灰羽，灰烬/水云混合物和灰分浓度剖面的存在。分析所有测量数据并在几秒钟内报告。

提升大气监测

Micro Pulse LiDAR (MPL) instruments, designed by Sigma Space, help scientists, meteorologists and air quality professionals monitor aerosols to better understand the structure of our atmosphere.

MPL’s long-range capabilities and high-quality signal increase efficiency and accuracy of the data capture process for improved atmospheric monitoring. Originally designed for NASA, MPL uses eye-safe lasers, precision photon counting, and built-in data analysis to deliver the best signal-to-noise ratio and thus the most reliable information in this category.

Sigma Space is part of Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B; hexagon. com), a leading global provider of information technologies that drive quality and productivity improvements across geospatial and industrial enterprise applications.

For more information, visit:www.micropulseLiDAR.com