at Google ScholarTitle data
Thomas, Christoph ; Selker, John S.:
Optical Fiber-Based Distributed Sensing Methods.
In: Foken, Thomas
(ed.):
Springer Handbook of Atmospheric Measurements. -
Cham, Switzerland
: Springer
,
2021
. - pp. 611-633
. - (Springer Handbooks
)
ISBN 978-3-030-52170-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52171-4_20
Abstract in another language
Optical-fiber-based distributed sensing (OFDS) methods have the potential to bridge the observational gap between single-point-based or networks of in-situ sensors and remote-sensing techniques. By providing thousands of measurements at high spatial resolution at centimeter to decimeter scales at sampling rates of currently up to 1 Hz over distances of several kilometers, they enable a wide range of exciting applications in surface and boundary-layer meteorology, including vertical and horizontal profiling, investigating the spatial structure of the near-surface turbulent flow and scalar fields, evaluating spatially explicit atmospheric modeling techniques, and resolving the response of airflow to land-surface heterogeneity, to name but a few. Since the basic OFDS system measures the temperature inside a fiber-optic cable, the technique is often referred to as distributed temperature sensing (DTS). However, since the current portfolio of applications includes many variables other than temperature, we prefer the more universal terminology OFDS. In contrast to most other in-situ or remote-sensing techniques described in this handbook, a single optical fiber can be used for observations across different media such as air, water, ice, snow, mineral soil, or plant tissue, thus the OFDS technique lends itself to interdisciplinary geosciences research. The field of fiber-optic-based distributed sensing is rapidly evolving, and the combination of fiber-optic cables and existing meteorological sensing approaches has led to an expansion in the range of observable variables beyond the temperature in air, soil, snow, and ice to include also soil moisture, wind speed, air humidity, and solar radiation. This chapter describes the fundamental operating principles and the accuracy, precision, and resolution of such measurements, provides an introduction to calibration routines, and gives an overview over deployed optical fibers. It also provides examples for field and laboratory applications, with a focus on surface-energy balance and turbulent airflow studies.