Posters

Abstract

Wind Lidars have become an established way to measure wind. Their measurement principles are well defined and understood. An extensive evidence base exists to demonstrate expected levels of performance and availability within a single measurement campaign. One major technical benefit of any Remote Sensing Device such as Lidar is its mobility, which in turn enables the opportunity for these wind measurement systems to be deployed in a very broad range of environments with varying climatic demands on the equipment itself. Furthermore, product lifetime expectations for a Lidar are that it should operate for a period of at least a decade. In a novel study, three separate CW Lidars are documented across their individual 10-year lifetime to investigate the range of conditions that have been observed. Furthermore, regular and repeat performance verifications of the Lidars performance is presented to consider the repeatability of the expected performance and availability over extended and detached periods of time. An extensive review of Continuous Wave Wind Lidars #334, #307 and #106 shall be presented and including deployments onshore and offshore. Environmental conditions are considered from countries including the UK, Poland, France, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Serbia and South Africa. Results will be shared that demonstrate a CW Lidars performance, as regularly tested at the UK's Remote Sensing Test Site, is repeatable over a 10 year lifetime and that the equipment is subjected to and suitably survives the range of climatic conditions experienced across the globe.