Lidar Scanning of Momentum Flux in and above the Atmospheric Surface Layer

Methods to measure the vertical flux of horizontal momentum using both continuous wave and pulsed Doppler lidar profilers are evaluated. The lidar measurements are compared to momentum flux observations performed with sonic anemometers over flat terrain at Høvsøre, Denmark, and profile-derived vertical momentum flux observations at the Horns Rev wind farm in the North Sea.

Generally, the momentum fluxes are reduced because of the finite measuring volume of the instruments, and the filtering is crudely accounted for theoretically. The essential parameter for the estimation of the reduction is the ratio of the turbulence scale to the size of the measuring volume. For the continuous wave lidar the reduction can largely be compensated by averaging Doppler spectra instead of radial velocities.