Enhancing Global Aviation Safety with Micro Pulse LiDAR

Sigma Space Staff

火山灰是对欧洲，亚洲和南美正常气体交通运营的反复障碍，这是由于潜在的喷气发动机损坏是由浓密的灰烬中的剃须刀颗粒造成的。

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

为了满足有关火山灰事件的更好信息的需求，图卢兹火山灰咨询中心（VAAC）要求法国国家气象局Météo-France（MF）专注于灰烬问题。MF出发determine the best method of providing accurate information about the size and concentration of volcanic particles from the ground up to a minimum of 12 kilometres altitude.

The subsequent research efforts included the following activities:

• Tracking plumes of volcanic ash or dust through the atmosphere

• 了解当地的空气质量

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

在2012年夏季，使用沙漠灰尘作为代理，MF收集的数据是由几个LiDAR传感器和天花板和原位测量的数据，并使用气球传播的粒子柜台和飞机传感器来评估其在跟踪气溶胶方面的有效性。

Using various sensors and the associated location of the instruments, numerical weather predictions (NWP) were used toforecast different synoptic weather, considering the following factors:

• Vicinity of main air routes

• Coverage of the Atlantic coast for ash coming from Iceland and the Mediterranean Sea emitted by the Italian volcanoes

• Impact on MOCAGE (Modéle de Chimie Atmosphérique de Grande Echelle), the French model for chemical species transport

网络研究点至minimpl的结果

After MF’s initial evaluation, several network designs were studied to determine which one provides the best cost/ benefit ratio. Based on criteria of cost and robustness, MF bought sixSigma空间最小LIDAR传感器.

“我们决定将五个minimpl放在里尔的固定位置，trappes，brest，momuy和aleria，”研究与开发工程师MétéofranceJeanluc Lampin说。“The sixth MiniMPL is being kept as a mobile lidar. In case of an ash event, the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre will decide the best place to deploy in terms of the atmospheric circulation and the location of the plume to obtain the best coverage.”

In the future, additional MPL’s will be added to the inventory to expand coverage and develop a comprehensive nation-wide network.

MiniMPL provides new atmospheric details critical to aviation safety

MF’s 3,100 employees are focused on developing the infrastructure and leading-edge technologies necessary to collect meteorological observations for a better understanding of the current atmospheric state. Atmospheric studies are critical for safe airport operations.

To improve global and regional weather modelling and 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 automaticallymeasure depolarization制作characterizing aerosol types feasible for researchers.

“Minimpl网络在Météofrance方面表现出色，”said Yunhui Zheng, director of optical engineering at Sigma Space.“通过使用去极化激光雷达传感器网络不断监测大气，可以防止或减轻由于火山灰或主要灰尘事件而导致的空气交通中断。”

minimpl使用激光器range up to 15 km，以及双极化。双极化反向散射测量值允许非常高的精度 - 大于0.7％。该数据使当局能够discriminate between the occurrence of pure water clouds and the presence of volcanic ash plumes, ash/water cloud mixtures, and ash concentration profiles. All measurement data is analysed and reported in seconds.

Elevating Atmospheric Monitoring

由Sigma空间设计的微脉冲LIDAR（MPL）仪器，可帮助科学家，气象学家和空气质量专业人士监视气溶胶，以更好地了解我们大气的结构。

MPL的远程功能和高质量信号提高了数据捕获过程的效率和准确性，以改善大气监测。MPL最初是为NASA设计的，它使用了安全的激光器，精密光子计数和内置数据分析来提供最佳的信噪比，因此是此类别中最可靠的信息。

Sigma Space是Hexagon（NASbob体育报道DAQ Stockholm：Hexa b;Hexagon。Com）的一部分，这是全球领先的信息技术提供商，可在地理空间和工业企业应用程序中提高质量和生产率的提高。

For more information, visit:www.micropulselidar.com