Within the Earth Explorer programme ESA will launch a new satellite mission devoted to wind observations, the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM/Aeolus). Measurements of atmospheric winds are inadequate in the present global observing system, wind profiles have been stated as the most urgently needed observation type for climate studies as well as numerical weather prediction (WMO, 2004). The ADM/Aeolus mission will provide line-of-sight wind profiles using a Doppler lidar measurement technique. A space borne lidar with an intermittent pulsing will provide wind profiles of high quality with a spatial along track resolution of 200 km. The vertical resolution is about 1 km and the measurements cover the troposphere and also extend into the lower stratosphere. Both Rayleigh scattering from molecules and Mie scattering from aerosols is used as detection principles in the Doppler lidar receiving equipment. An overview of the mission can be found in Stoffelen et al. (2005).
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