DOI: 10.21413/ndacc_ohp_lta.l2.v1
title: Vertical profiles of temperature from NDACC/OHP Rayleigh Lidar Level 2
title: Long-term measurement at OHP Station

description: The Lidar is an instrument probing the atmosphere with a laser. By illuminating an atmosphere volume with a light pulsed, the backscattered light is collected with a telescope or lens and collected photons are detected with a photomultiplier using a counting mode when using a wavelength on the visible spectra domain. Differences in laser return times provide vertical information.The name lidar, is now used as an acronym of light detection and ranging. Rayleigh lidar uses the molecular scattering. In case the atmosphere is free of particles and remains with a constant mixing ratio, collected photons are linearly related to air density. In assuming air is in hydrostatic equilibrium and obeys the perfect gas law, the level 2 data will correspond to the Lidar Temperature Aerosols  (LTA) profiles, which can be derived from 30 km to 80-90 km (Hauchecorne et al., 1980). The accuracy is better than 1K below 70 km. The design are described in Keckhut et al (1993).
description: Measurements are performed in routine since 1979 from The Observatory of Haute-Provence (Longitude = 5° 42' 44" E Latitude = +43° 55' 54") in the geophysical station (named Gérard Mégie) located in south of France.
These observations are obtained in the NDACC framework and the quality is checked through inter-comparisons with a mobile lidar operated by NASA (Keckhut et al., 2004). Recent comparisons with the two collocated lidar allows to have a better uncertainty estimates (Wing et al., 2018).
description: http://www.ndaccdemo.org/stations/observatoire-de-haute-provence-france
description: Publications
Hauchecorne A., M.L. Chanin, Density and temperature profiles obtained by lidar between 35 and 70 km, Geophys. Res. Lett., 7, 565-568, 1980. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/GL007i008p00565

Keckhut P., A. Hauchecorne and M.L. Chanin, A critical review on the data base acquired for the long term surveillance of the middle atmosphere by French Rayleigh lidars, J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 10, 850-867, 1993. https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/1520-0426%281993%29010%3C0850%3AACROTD%3E2.0.CO%3B2

Keckhut, P., S. McDermid, D. Swart, T. McGee, S. Godin-Beekmann, A. Adriani, J. Barnes, J-L. Baray, H. Bencherif, H. Claude, G. Fiocco, G. Hansen, A. Hauchecorne, T. Leblanc, C.H. Lee, S. Pal, G. Megie, H. Nakane, R. Neuber, W. Steinbrecht, and J. Thayer, Review of ozone and temperature lidar validations performed within the framework of the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change, J. Environ. Monit., 6, 721-733, 2004.  https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2004/em/b404256e#!divAbstract

Wing R., A. Hauchecorne, P. Keckhut, S. Godin-Beekmann, S. Khaykin, E. M. McCullough, J-F. Mariscal, and E. d’Almeida, Lidar temperature series in the middle atmosphere as a reference data set. Part 1: Improved retrievals and a 20 year cross validation of two co-located French lidars, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, European Geosciences Union, 11 (10), pp.5531 - 5547. 〈10.5194/amt-11-5531-2018〉https://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/11/5531/2018/