Real-Time Processing and Display of Coherent Lidar Returns

Abstract

Prior to 1983, 95% of signal processing for the NOAA coherent lidar system was performed off-line. This limited real-time processing and display performance hampered the utility of the lidar in experiments such as JAWS1 (Joint Airport Weather Study) where the inability to detect and track interesting meteorological phenomena severely limited the quantity of useful data-recorded. During JAWS, we were able to monitor radial velocities in only one range gate at any given time, thus often missing the presence of an interesting event occurring at another range.