Abstract

Over the past several decades there has been a marked increase in wintertime haze at Grand Canyon National Park. People travel from all over the world to enjoy the canyon, sometimes to find their view of the canyon is obscured by haze. The Navajo Generating Station (NGS) Visibility Contribution Study was conducted to determine whether there would be an improvement in the visibility at the Grand Canyon during winter months if the NGS reduced its emissions. This power plant, to the north of the canyon, has been targeted as a cause of wintertime haze at the canyon. The NOAA/WPL Doppler lidar¹, along with many other instruments, participated in the study. The lidar simultaneously measured radial velocity and backscattered signal intensity in and above the canyon. Doppler lidar measurements of upper-level winds, canyon winds, and aerosol distribution, for the period 28 February 1990 to 5 March 1990, are discussed in this paper.

© 1991 Optical Society of America