Skip Content

Short-range LIDAR

Short-range LIDAR

With the continuous development of the airport, the possibility of turbulence arising from buildings near the runway has gained attention. To address this issue, the Observatory developed alerting technology based on the short-range LIDAR (SRL), and installed a unit of SRL (Figure 1) close to the Centre Runway near to AsiaWorld-Expo. With its finer and more frequent scans, the SRL can help capture turbulence features, which are of smaller spatial and temporal scales, induced by buildings nearby. The SRL has commenced operational use since the middle of 2019 as an enhancement of the Observatory’s Windshear and Turbulence Warning System.
 
In addition, the Observatory installed a unit of SRL at each end of the airport's new North Runway in the middle of 2022 to support the detection and research of aircraft wake turbulence. In early 2024, two more SRL were installed along the South Runway to enhance the support for the study of aircraft wake turbulence.

The short-range LIDAR in operation
Figure 1 The short-range LIDAR in operation.