Data Trawler - Project details

Project details

Title:

Evaluation of novel LiDAR instruments. PALS (Persistent Autonomous LiDAR Sensor)

Id:

2676

Investigator(s):

Helen Pask
Macquarie University [details]

Description:

The PALS (Persistent Autonomous LiDAR Sensor) is a fieldable, unattended active optical profiler to be deployed from RVI alongside the Macquarie (MQ) LiDAR and a coordinated suite of in‑situ measurements (CTD, water sampling, Triaxus, and ROV‑based marine‑life and turbulence studies). PALS will deliver time‑resolved, range‑resolved profiles of water‑column scattering and attenuation using polarization‑resolved elastic backscatter at 532nm and a near‑field water Raman channel (~650nm). The combined elastic/Raman design supports robust retrievals of particulate beam attenuation Cp (532) and backscatter‑derived structure metrics (including depolarisation) that are sensitive to particle type and morphology (phytoplankton functional groups, mineral grains, and microbubble fields).
PALS will be deployed on the auxiliary instrument mount on RVI's Starboard drop keel.
Operating persistently from a moving platform, PALS will extend episodic ship sampling into continuous context, capturing rapid changes driven by diel cycles, mixing events, and interactions with reef and seamount structures. Co‑deployment with MQ LiDAR over the same water masses enables direct intercomparison across different excitation wavelengths, temporal modalities, receiver fields‑of‑view and processing approaches, improving confidence in water‑column products and informing next‑generation ocean LiDAR instrumentation. With low pulse energy (<1mJ), 8Hz repetition, beam divergence and platform motion, exposure risks to marine fauna are expected to be negligible within established laser‑safety frameworks.

Years:

2026

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List of surveys that this project was on.

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