Middle atmospheric temperature measurements with lidar

The temperature with lidar is now a well mature technique that has been used for atmospheric monitoring for more than two decade at the Observatory of Haute-Provence. Despite, the basic principle is quite simple, the reduction of the source of uncertainties can be achieved by both approaches: data analyses and lidar design. The technique of temperature lidar sounding allows retrieving absolute measurements that is described hereafter. Initialization is the main limitation of the method. The direct measurement consists of the air density and its measure without bias is a real challenge while the linearity, the signal dynamic, noise extraction and alignment of the emitter and receiver need to be accurately performed. These problems are quite standards for the lidar technique and can be adapted to other type of lidar measurements.