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ExplOr 2023 project: In-situ measurement of wind-wave-aerosol interactions at Belle-Île-en-Mer

As part of the ExplOr project funded by the Institut CARNOT MERS, an intensive measurement campaign combining wind, wave and aerosol measurements by LiDAR scanning was carried out at Belle-île-en-Mer over the period March-July 2023. The aim of the combined measurements is to document wind-wave interactions over the sea.

on April 3, 2024

Le LiDAR scannant lors de la campagne de mesures
Le LiDAR scannant lors de la campagne de mesures

Deployed between March and July 2023 at the Talut semaphore site, the LHEEA's (Research Laboratory in Hydrodynamics, Energetics & Atmospheric Environment) LiDAR doppler scanner was configured to measure the wind profile over the sea near a wave buoy in the CANDHIS network.

The co-located and simultaneous measurements of swell and wind have made it possible to document different wind-wave interaction regimes, shedding new light on these complex phenomena.


A campaign to measure marine aerosols was also carried out from the Goulpha lighthouse in March 2023. Marine aerosols, generated by the breaking of waves under the action of the wind or the coast, are droplets of seawater that can be transported far into the atmosphere and are involved in ocean-atmosphere interactions. As part of a collaboration with TNO (Netherlands), the aim of this campaign is to assess the ability of LiDAR to measure these aerosols and to provide a new tool for better understanding how they are generated and transported.

The project is funded by the Institut CARNOT MERS. The scanning LiDAR is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Investments for the Future Programme. Our thanks to TNO for supplying and installing the aerosol sensors; to DRIM Nord Atlantique Manche Ouest and the lighthouse keeper for authorising the installation of the aerosol sensors; and to FOSIT Atlantique for installing the scanning LiDAR.

ExplOr Project

The ExplOr project (Exploration of the capabilities of scanning LiDAR for the study of air-ocean interactions in the lower atmosphere), funded by the Institut CARNOT MERS, focuses on the study of dynamic interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean. Detailed knowledge of air-sea exchanges (quantity of movement, matter and heat) is key to understanding the climate system, with consequences for meteorology and climate, as well as more applied fields such as wind resource assessment.

Due to a lack of in-situ data, our understanding of these interactions remains patchy. The ExplOr project aims to assess the ability of scanning LiDAR to measure these exchanges in situ. The project has two main objectives:

  1. to set up a measurement campaign to analyse the flow of momentum and aerosols at the air-sea interface using a scanning LiDAR,
  2. to develop and test analysis methods.
Published on April 8, 2024 Updated on April 9, 2024