Airborne Measurements for Environmental Research: Methods and Instruments

This handbook provides the first comprehensive review of measurement principles, instruments and processing techniques for airborne observation of the Earth?s atmosphere and surface. For each field, the major principles of measurement are presented and illustrated with commonly–used airborne instruments, to assess the present capabilities in terms of accuracy, to raise awareness of specific issues with the interpretation of measurements from airborne operations, and to review emerging measurement techniques.
The authors are internationally–recognized experts in their field, who actively contribute to the design and development of modern airborne instrumentation and processing techniques. While primarily intended for climate, geophysical and atmospheric researchers, its relevance to the solar system makes this work useful to astronomers studying planetary atmospheres with telescopes and space probes.


1 Introduction
2 Thermodynamic and Dynamic Parameters
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Historical
2.3 Aircraft State Parameters
2.4 Static Air Pressure
2.5 Static Air Temperature
2.6 Water Vapor Measurements
2.7 Three Dimensional Wind Vector
2.8 Flux Measurements
2.9 Small Scale Turbulence
3 In Situ Trace Gas Measurements
3.1 Rationale and Historical Perspective
3.2 Introduction
3.3 Spectroscopic Techniques
3.4 Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry
3.5 Chemical Conversion Techniques
3.6 Whole Air Sampling and Chromatographic Techniques
4 In Situ Measurements of Aerosol Particles
4.1 Physical Characterization of Aerosol Particles
4.2 Aerosol Particle Number Concentration
4.3 Aerosol Particle Size Distribution
4.4 Aerosol Chemistry
4.5 Optical Properties of Aerosols
4.6 Cloud Condensation and Ice Nuclei
4.7 Challenges and Emerging Techniques
5 In Situ Measurements of Cloud and Precipitation Particles
5.1 Overview
5.2 Single Particle Size Distributions and Morphology
5.3 Integral Properties of an Ensemble of Particles
5.4 Measurement Issues
5.5 Emerging Technologies
6 Aerosol and Cloud Particle Sampling
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Aircraft Influence
6.3 Aerosol Particle Sampling
6.4 Cloud Particle Sampling
6.5 Summary and Guidelines
7 Radiation Measurements
7.1 Motivation
7.2 Fundamentals
7.3 Solar Radiation
7.4 Terrestrial Radiation
7.5 Microwave (MW) Radiation
8 Hyperspectral Remote Sensing
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Definition
8.3 Development and History
8.4 HRS Sensors
8.5 Potential and Applications
8.6 Sensor Principles
8.7 Planning of an HRS Mission
8.8 Data Analysis
8.9 Sensor Calibration
8.10 Summary and Conclusion
9 LIDAR and RADAR Observations
9.1 Historical Perspective
9.2 Introduction
9.3 Principles of LIDAR and RADAR Remote Sensing
9.4 LIDAR Atmospheric Observations and Related Systems
9.5 Cloud and Precipitation Observations with RADAR
9.6 Results of Airborne RADAR Observations –
Some Examples
9.7 Parameters Derived from Combined Use of LIDAR and RADAR
9.8 Conclusion and Perspectives

Appendix A (please find it online)

Manfred Wendisch is a professor and director of the Institute of Meteorology at the University of Leipzig, Germany, and holds a permanent guest professor appointment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Professor Wendisch is member of the Saxonian Academy of Sciences.


Jean–Louis Brenguier is Director of the Experimental and Instrumental meteorology Group of the French Meteorological Service, and Coordinator of the European facilities for Airborne Research (EUFAR). His research activities comprise aerosol detection.

Both authors are highly regarded with the community.

1 Introduction
2 Thermodynamic and Dynamic Parameters
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Historical
2.3 Aircraft State Parameters
2.4 Static Air Pressure
2.5 Static Air Temperature
2.6 Water Vapor Measurements
2.7 Three Dimensional Wind Vector
2.8 Flux Measurements
2.9 Small Scale Turbulence
3 In Situ Trace Gas Measurements
3.1 Rationale and Historical Perspective
3.2 Introduction
3.3 Spectroscopic Techniques
3.4 Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry
3.5 Chemical Conversion Techniques
3.6 Whole Air Sampling and Chromatographic Techniques
4 In Situ Measurements of Aerosol Particles
4.1 Physical Characterization of Aerosol Particles
4.2 Aerosol Particle Number Concentration
4.3 Aerosol Particle Size Distribution
4.4 Aerosol Chemistry
4.5 Optical Properties of Aerosols
4.6 Cloud Condensation and Ice Nuclei
4.7 Challenges and Emerging Techniques
5 In Situ Measurements of Cloud and Precipitation Particles
5.1 Overview
5.2 Single Particle Size Distributions and Morphology
5.3 Integral Properties of an Ensemble of Particles
5.4 Measurement Issues
5.5 Emerging Technologies
6 Aerosol and Cloud Particle Sampling
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Aircraft Influence
6.3 Aerosol Particle Sampling
6.4 Cloud Particle Sampling
6.5 Summary and Guidelines
7 Radiation Measurements
7.1 Motivation
7.2 Fundamentals
7.3 Solar Radiation
7.4 Terrestrial Radiation
7.5 Microwave (MW) Radiation
8 Hyperspectral Remote Sensing
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Definition
8.3 Development and History
8.4 HRS Sensors
8.5 Potential and Applications
8.6 Sensor Principles
8.7 Planning of an HRS Mission
8.8 Data Analysis
8.9 Sensor Calibration
8.10 Summary and Conclusion
9 LIDAR and RADAR Observations
9.1 Historical Perspective
9.2 Introduction
9.3 Principles of LIDAR and RADAR Remote Sensing
9.4 LIDAR Atmospheric Observations and Related Systems
9.5 Cloud and Precipitation Observations with RADAR
9.6 Results of Airborne RADAR Observations?Some Examples
9.7 Parameters Derived from Combined Use of LIDAR and RADAR
9.8 Conclusion and Perspectives