Application of the Na-DEMOF Atomic Filter to 3-Frequency Na Doppler Lidar Observations of Wind and Temperature in the Lower Atmosphere

Lidar systems comprise one of several indispensable tools for derivation of wind, density, and temperature profiles in the atmosphere. 3-frequency resonance-fluorescence lidars are particularly useful for high-resolution profiles of all three quantities derived simultaneously. However, these lidars depend on atomic species restricted to the metal layers in the middle and upper atmosphere as frequency discriminators, and are not optimized for derivation of these quantities in the lower atmosphere. Rayleigh Doppler lidars typically applied to this region face other restrictions, such as dependence on high-power transmitted lasers, lack of absolute frequency references, and inabilities to derive multiple atmospheric quantities simultaneously without expensive additional transmitter and receiver channels. A proposed solution to these difficulties is the sodium double-edge magneto-optic filter, (Na-DEMOF), which provides a frequency discriminator for the Rayleigh signal returned by the lower atmosphere and allows 3-frequency Na Doppler lidars to derive atmospheric quantity profiles within the lower atmosphere as well as within the mesospheric and lower thermospheric (MLT) metal layers. This thesis describes the design, benefits, and restrictions of Na-DEMOFs, and uses the application methods and most recent results of the Na-DEMOFs constructed and tested by the Chu lidar group to demonstrate their successful application to simultaneous derivation of meridional and zonal winds along with temperature