DNV has completed an independent IEC classification of the ZX 300e ground-based wind lidar from ZX Lidars, and has confirmed that the highest performance outcome under the IEC classification framework was achieved.

The system achieved 0% standard uncertainty and a 0% accuracy class under IEC 61400-50-2, following testing across multiple sites, reference masts and environmental conditions. According to DNV, the assessment applied the full multi-site and multi-mast methodology set out in the standard and included extended measurement campaigns with full seasonal coverage.

The ZX 300e was validated across a 20m-200m height range, which is the broadest range confirmed for a wind lidar under the IEC framework.

Continue reading DNV completes IEC classification of ZX 300e wind lidar at Meteorological Technology International.

Vaisala is debuting its new, customizable software solution to share clear, real-time and operation-specific weather insights from automatic weather stations and sensors at Meteorological Technology World Expo 2025, which is taking place October 14-16 In Vienna, Austria.

The software, named Elements Lite, is said to be optimized for accessibility – providing live, customizable conditions from desktop, tablet and smartphone devices. It supports a variety of Vaisala’s weather sensors, including those measuring air temperature, wind speed and direction, visibility, barometric pressure, humidity and precipitation. Users can also configure alarm thresholds tailored to their specific operational requirements.

Elements Lite also integrates with Vaisala Elements Online cloud platform to share weather observations beyond the local network.

Continue reading Vaisala unveils Elements Lite software for real-time, customizable weather insights at Meteorological Technology International.

Researchers at NSF NCAR have developed the MicroPulse Differential Absorption Lidar (MicroPulse DIAL or MPD), which uses low-cost lasers to affordably collect high-quality, continuous data about Earth’s lower atmosphere. Accurate, localized forecasts are needed to improve predictions of severe weather events like hail storms or flooding, the researchers say, adding that the cost of the instruments necessary to measure the elements limits forecasters’ ability to acquire data from enough locations and at the frequency required.

Accessible forecasting

To make the leap from prototype to widely used instrument, the MPD development team began seeking partners that could commercially produce the instrument and make the technology more widely available.

Continue reading NSF NCAR develops lidar with low-cost lasers to improve severe weather predictions at Meteorological Technology International.

Researchers from Northern Arizona University (NAU) have used NASA’s spaceborne lidar to discover that ladder fuels – which are shrubs, small trees and lower branches – may be the most important factor in predicting wildfire severity even in extreme conditions. Further, management efforts that focus on ladder fuels can help reduce the size and severity of wildfires in the US Southwest no matter what the weather is doing.

Chris Hakkenberg, an assistant research professor in the School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems (SICCS) at NAU, was the lead author of the study. He collaborated with researchers in California as well as senior research scientist Patrick Burns and and Regents professor Scott Goetz, both at NAU.

Continue reading NASA’s spaceborne lidar increases predictability of wildland fires at Meteorological Technology International.

Scientists at University College London (UCL), the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) Paris-Saclay in France will capture novel observations of coastal wave breaking and use advanced modeling and machine learning (ML) to work out the impacts of coastal wave breaking on the climate system to plug a gap in current climate models.

WaveClim’s advanced technology

The project, called WaveClim, will use advanced sensor technology and ML to capture and integrate coastal wave-breaking dynamics into predictive models.

State-of-the-art monitoring equipment, including lidar, drones and stereoscopic cameras, will be deployed to provide unprecedented data on coastal wave breaking under diverse conditions.

Continue reading UCL, NOC and ENS to deploy machine learning and lidar to study breaking waves at Meteorological Technology International.

For the first time, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has assessed the long-term capability of the HALO Doppler lidar network across Finland.

In the study, data from a network of four HALO Doppler lidars in Utö, Hyytiälä, Vehmasmäki and Sodankylä were analyzed. These instruments can continuously observe and provide information about the atmosphere up to 9km, or below the cloud base.

For all the instruments, the noise level shows stable performance but clear differences among them. The analysis also shows that all the instruments have an adequate long-term performance in measuring aerosol depolarization ratio.

Scientists developed a background correction method and constructed an algorithm to distinguish aerosol particles from other constituents in the atmosphere.

Continue reading Finnish lidar network for atmospheric aerosols assessed for first time at Meteorological Technology International.

Altechna will use the high-power Alexandrite crystals and coatings developed in the Galactic project to collect climate change-related observations on the atmosphere and vegetation. The goal is to employ such laser crystals in systems used in satellite-based lidar devices for shoreline mapping, storm surge modeling and seafloor measuring.

During the Galactic project, three European companies – Altechna, Optomaterials and Laser Zentrum Hannover – developed a European supply chain of Alexandrite laser crystals for studying changes in the atmosphere and the planet’s surface.

“Droughts, heatwaves and floods cause more and more losses every year. Gladly, lidar instruments with Alexandrite lasers help us to detect atmospheric changes.

Continue reading Altechna to use Alexandrite laser crystals in satellite-based lidar devices for atmospheric research at Meteorological Technology International.

Vaisala has released the latest iteration of IRIS Focus, an advanced remote sensing software that provides “superior understanding” of storms and weather fronts to support safe operations at airports.

The web-based software is used to visualize and process data generated by weather radars, wind lidars and lightning detection networks. The most recent iteration better detects and characterizes low-level turbulence, offers a unique range time indicator, groups events, and enables secure remote access to weather alerts.

“As our changing climate increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, precise weather insights and rapid alerts are more important than ever for meteorologists, forecasters and decision-makers at the airport,” said Ludovic Thobois, IRIS Focus product manager at Vaisala.

Continue reading Vaisala updates IRIS Focus advanced remote sensing software at Meteorological Technology International.

Now established as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), Europe’s Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS) connects 79 observational and 33 exploratory or experimental platforms to its Central Facilities, with harmonized standards for instruments, calibration and data retrieval. It shows how, by pooling national resources and expertise, Europe can lead the world.

“Nuclear physicists have one synchrotron between many countries,” says ACTRIS scientific chair Paolo Laj. “One telescope serves many astronomers. ACTRIS is a similar, but distributed, research infrastructure. It enables me to access a simulation chamber, conduct an experiment with quality-assured, well-calibrated instruments, use standardized data retrievals, and have somewhere to store and analyze data.

Continue reading FEATURE: Pan-European atmospheric research infrastructure connects over 100 scientific platforms at Meteorological Technology International.

Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has begun using three lidar instruments to retrieve the polarization value (a shape-relevant parameter) and the Ångström exponent (a size-relevant parameter) required for the determination of pollen presence.

This has helped the organization characterize the vertical distribution and optical properties of birch and pine pollen over the rural environment in Vehmasmäki, a village in Kuopio, Finland. Pollen release in the northern hemisphere is well-documented, yet little is known about its vertical distribution and optical properties.

The three ground-based lidars – namely a multi-wavelength PollyXT lidar, a Vaisala CL61 ceilometer and a Halo Photonics StreamLine Pro Doppler lidar – operate at different wavelengths, enabling the optical characterization at four wavelengths (355nm, 532nm, 910nm and 1565nm).

Continue reading Finnish Meteorological Institute uses three lidar instruments to study pollen at Meteorological Technology International.