LAUSR

ABSTRACT Atmospheric visibility, or meteorological optical range (MOR), is governed by light extinction by aerosols and is linked to air quality and Earth’s climate. A coherent frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) Doppler wind lidar has been used to measure the atmospheric roundtrip distance (target distance) in the period 24 March 2022 to 29 March 2022. A visibility sensor measured MOR independently. The independently measured MOR was found to correlate with the lidar roundtrip distance with a R2 value of 0.68. A first-order model explaining the observation is presented. The results are promising and indicate that more extensive research is worthwhile, in particular, a longer measurement time series covering more diverse atmospheric conditions and a dedicated visibility sensor located next to the lidar.