Atmospheric Remote Sensing

Description

The aim of this course is to allow the student to appreciate the methods used to make atmospheric measurements and to understand the physical principles behind these techniques.

The first part of the course will deal with the use of radar in atmospheric remote sending. The fundamental principles of radar will be discussed and the physics underlying the scattering processes observed will be examined in some detail. The calculation of antenna polar diagrams will also be discussed. Two atmospheric remote sensing radar systems will also be detailed briefly, these being Meteor radar and ST radar systems. Students will also visit the Birdlings Flat radar field site to examine working atmospheric remote sensing radars.

The second part of the course will focus on the physical principles underlying optical remote sensing. The difference between passive and active remote sensing techniques will then be discussed. Passive ground-based and Satellite-based remote sensing systems will also be discussed. Specific instruments will be discussed to explain the use of general techniques. For example, the Dobson spectrophotometer will be discussed in some detail. We will also deal with Active optical remote sensing techniques, such as Lidar (Light detection and ranging).