https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201611927007
From Operational Ceilometer Network to Operational Lidar Network
1 Observations branch, Met Office, Exeter, Devon EX1 3PB, United Kingdom
2 Weather Science branch, Met Office, Exeter, Devon EX1 3PB, United Kingdom
* Email: mariana.adam@metoffice.gov.uk
Published online: 7 June 2016
During the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, the Met Office ceilometers (Laser Cloud Based Recorders - LCBR) provided reasonable information about volcanic ash plumes over the United Kingdom [1]. This capability triggered the development of an operational system to provide quick looks of the range corrected signals (RCS) in near-real-time (NRT). Moreover, the Met Office acquired eleven Jenoptik ceilometers to supplement the operational ceilometer network. The combined network became operational in 2012 and currently comprises a total of 43 ceilometers reporting backscatter profiles in NRT. In 2013, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Department for transport (DfT) sponsored the acquisition of 9 fixed lidars and one mobile unit (each accompanied by a sunphotometer), to further improve the quantitative monitoring of volcanic ash. The current status of both ceilometer and lidar/sun-photometer networks is discussed and further developments are proposed.
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2016
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