Performance of Charm-F – the airborne demonstrator for Merlin

In 2015, the new airborne lidar CHARM-F for the measurement of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane was set into operation. It is an integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar designed for the use onboard the German research aircraft HALO. Due to its high technological similarity to the MERLIN space lidar, it is also a demonstrator for the space system. Here, we report on CHARM-F’s technology, the experiences with the IPDA lidar method and the achieved performance