Faculty, staff, and students in the Departments of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University use a scanning lidar measure and understand the winds in Baltimore and beyond. This laser device sends an eye-safe laser beam into the atmosphere to measure the motion of dust particles.  This device lets researchers measure winds and atmospheric turbulence. These data are important for understanding the winds in Baltimore and how they change because of urban structures.

What do we measure?

The Lundquist Reseach Group and collaborators operate the lidar to understand the variability of the wind.  Ultimately, this research is aimed at improving weather predictions and understanding wind flow in the layers closest to the group, including in cities.

What is this instrument?

The Vaisala 200S scanning lidar is an eye-safe laser system. The scanning head rotates around to send its beam in different directions to measure the winds in that location.