ULM Project
Ulrich Lemmin
Baikal-Selenga workshop, Geneva, 31 October 2012
Scientific objectives
• Study the dynamical processes occurring in the
boundary layer between the atmosphere and lakes
or land using a light, highly mobile, airborne
platform.
• Study areas:
o Air/water exchange of heat and gases
o Micrometeorology
o Sediment suspension in rivers and lakes
o Biomass dynamics in lakes
o Vegetation dynamics on land
o Aerosol dynamics
o Forest fires
Scientific objectives
• Understanding of
o System dynamics of air/water interaction
o Climate change effects
o Greenhouse gas transport
o Atmospheric pollution distribution
• Applications in
o Environmental monitoring
o Land/lake management
o Biomass assessment
o Carbon accounting
Scientific objectives
These studies will provide information which will be
complementary to
o Satellite data, providing
temporal resolution
higher
spatial
and
o Ground-based measurements, providing greater
point density.
This allows studying boundary layer
dynamics with unprecedented resolution.
process
Partners
• Switzerland:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne (EPFL)
• France:
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de
l’Environnement, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Orme des
Merisiers, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
• Russia:
o Moscow State University
o BAIKAL Institute of Nature Management
(Siberian Branch of RAS)
Principal airborne platform:
ULM
ULM Project
Proposed sub projects:
13/17
ULM Project
Time table:
Lake Geneva
May 2013
Lake Geneva-Lake Baikal June 2013
Lake Baikal
July 2013
13/17
ULM on Lake Geneva
13/17
Possible scientific objectives for flights
over Lake Geneva and Baikal
• Study the dynamical processes occurring close to
and above the lakes, which are mainly due to the
presence of mountains. The airborne lidar offers
a unique opportunity to identify the structure of
the lower atmosphere in the vicinity of the lakes.
Modeling groups are required for the posttreatment (one identified in France).
• Assess the capability of forest to regrow after
forest fires in the Lake Baikal area. The lidar will
measure the canopy top. Forest fires are
frequent in this area and have occurred at
different periods in the past. The study areas
remain to be defined around Lake Baikal.
Expérience Léman – Baïkal
Firing through the helice
Typical flight plans with lidar
for atmospheric studies
Two ULAs (ULM in French) will fly in formation.
 The ULA carrying the Raman lidar (lidar-ULA) will fly ahead between 3000
and 4000 m above the ground level (agl).
 The ULA carrying the fluxmeters will fly behind the lidar-ULA and will be
equiped by a Rayleigh-Mie lidar.
Instruments used
The instruments make up the payloads of 2 ultra-light
aircrafts (ULA).
ULA 1 (remote sensing)
 Raman lidar
 Meteorological probe (pressure, temperature, relative
humidity)
 GPS
 Artificial horizon
ULA flight above Gibraltar bay
(Summer 2011)
Expérience Léman – Baïkal
12
Instruments used
The instruments make up the payloads of 2 ultra-light
aircrafts (ULA).
ULA 2 (in situ measurements)
 Rayleigh-Mie lidar
 Meteorological probe (pressure, temperature, relative
humidity)
 Pyranometer (visible solar irradiance)
 Artificial horizon
 GPS
13
ULM project
13/17
ULM project
13/17
Airborne lidar experiment from
Lake Geneva (Léman) to Baikal
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Orme des
Merisiers, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Contact: patrick.chazette@cea.fr
Expérience Léman – Baïkal
16
Scientific objectives during the main trip
between Lake Geneva and Lake Baikal
• Identification of the biomass burning plume
encountered during the trip between the Lake
Geneva and Lake Baikal (directly from the
measurements)
• Characterization of the biomass burning plumes
using the aerosol optical properties (directly from
the measurements)
• Use of the lidar-derived parameters (vertical
atmospheric structures, aerosol extinction
coefficient) to constrain the regional chemistrytransport models for assessing the contributions
of forest boreal fires to the atmospheric
composition (requires modeling groups)
17
Leman-Baikal project
In the area along the trajectory, the atmosphere
is poorly documented from measurements at
such spatial resolution. Only satellite
observations are available.
Lac Baïkal
Lac Leman
Flight plans as previously defined
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Collaboration with Russian and French
partners:
• EPFL scientists are invited to
participate in the overland flight
and the work around Lake Baikal.
• Russian partners have defined
areas of collaboration and prepared
project proposals.
13/17
ULM project
13/17
ULM project
13/17
Collaboration with Russian and
French partners in the Lake Baikal
area:
• Specific study areas (hot spots)
are being defined.
13/17
ULM project; Lake Baikal: Selenga delta
.
Can be a “hot spot” for studies on:
• Lake Baikal
• Interaction lake-river
• River sediment dynamics
• Forest fire and vegetation
• Aerosol dynamics over land
and over lake
13/17
ULM project
13/17