Vaisala

CL61

Lidar ceilometer with depolarization measurement

CL61

A high-performance lidar ceilometer with depolarization measurement: it measures the attenuated backscatter profile in two polarization directions up to 15.4 km, enabling differentiation between liquid and solid particles and detection of dust and volcanic ash. It reports up to 5 cloud layers, with data in netCDF format and remote Ethernet access.

Download datasheet (PDF)

Specifications

Technical specifications

Measurement range (cloud and backscatter)
0–15.400 m (0–50.500 ft)
Cloud layers reported
Hasta 5
Reporting resolution
4,8 m
Measurement interval
5 s
Laser
Diodo InGaAs, 910,55 nm (Clase 1M, seguro para la vista)
Operating temperature
−50 °C a +55 °C
Housing rating
IP66 (dentro del escudo de radiación)
Outputs
Ethernet (> 10 Mbit/s); datos en formato netCDF

Features

Key features

  • Depolarization measurement: differentiates liquid, solid, or mixed-phase clouds and precipitation
  • Detection of dust, sand, and volcanic ash in the atmosphere
  • High-resolution attenuated backscatter profile across the full range
  • Improved signal-to-noise ratio for detailed atmospheric structure reporting
  • Patented technology that minimizes the effect of water vapor absorption
  • Traceable factory calibration; depolarization requires no field calibration
  • Remote Ethernet access and self-diagnostics with embedded fault analysis

Applications

Typical applications

  • Airports and aviation: detection of icing layers and volcanic ash
  • Atmospheric surveillance: dust, smoke, and volcanic ash
  • Air quality: planetary boundary layer profiling (with BL-View software)
  • High-performance weather and climate networks
  • Rain/snow differentiation for nowcasting

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