Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

CIRES Council of Fellows>

Xinzhao Chu

Xinzhao Chu

Ph.D., Physics and Electrical Engineering,
Peking University, Beijing, 1996
Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering Sciences

E-mail: Xinzhao.Chu@Colorado.edu
Web: Chu research group
Office: CIRES 241
Phone: 303-492-3280

Research Interests

  • Atmospheric Sciences
  • Atmosphere: Composition & Disturbance
  • Aeronomy
  • Atmospheric Remote Sensing
  • Atmospheric Structure and Dynamics
  • Data Analysis
  • Remote Sensing
  • Instrumentation, Techniques (Physical Sciences)
  • Lasers and Masers
  • Optics
  • Physics, Atomic
  • Spectroscopy
  • Quantum Mechanics
  • Electro-optics

Current Research Projects [ projects pages ]

  • Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) project for development of a mobile Fe-Resonance/Rayleigh/Mie Doppler lidar
  • Lidar Consortium Technology Center (CTC) for Consortium of Resonance and Rayleigh Lidars (CRRL)
  • CEDAR: Arecibo, Puerto Rico (19.35°N) and Maui, Hawaii (20.7°N) MLT thermal structure, tides, gravity waves, and metal layers study; development of daytime Arecibo K Doppler lidarlidar technology
  • Rothera (67.5°S, 68.0°W) and South Pole (90°S) polar middle and upper atmosphere studylidar technology
  • Mobile lidar laboratory and Table Mountain lidar observatory
  • Novel Doppler-free laser spectroscopy of K, Na, and Fe; Development of next-generation resonance / Rayleigh / Mie Doppler lidar technology

Selected Publications [ publications pages ]

  • Chu, X., P. J. Espy, G. J. Nott, J. C. Diettrich, and C. S. Gardner, Polar mesospheric clouds observed by an iron Boltzmann lidar at Rothera (67.5°S, 68.0°W), Antarctica from 2002-2005: properties and implications, Journal of Geophysical Research, 111, D20213, doi: 10.1029/2006JD007086, 2006.
  • Chu, X., and G. C. Papen, Resonance Fluorescence Lidar for Measurements of the Middle and Upper Atmosphere, in the book of Laser Remote Sensing, edited by T. Fujii and T. Fukuchi, published by CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, ISBN: 0-8247-4256-7, page 179-432, 2005.
  • Chu, X., C. S. Gardner, and S. J. Franke, Nocturnal thermal structure of the MLT region at Maui, HI (20.7°N) and Starfire Optical Range, NM (35°N), Journal of Geophysical Research, 110, D09S03, doi:10.1029/2004JD004891, 2005.
  • Stevens, M. H., R. R. Meier, X. Chu, M. T. DeLand, and J. M. C. Plane, Antarctic polar mesospheric clouds formed from space shuttle exhaust, Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L13810, doi:10.1029/2005GL023054, 2005.
  • Chu, X., G. J. Nott, P. J. Espy, C. S. Gardner, J. C. Diettrich, M. A. Clilverd, and M. J. Jarvis, Lidar observations of polar mesospheric clouds at Rothera, Antarctica (67.5°S, 68.0°W), Geophysical Research Letter, 31, L02114, doi: 10.1029/2003GL018638, 2004.
  • Plane, J. M. C., B. J. Murray, X. Chu, and C. S. Gardner, Removal of meteoric iron on polar mesospheric clouds, Science, 304, 426-428, 2004.
  • Chu, X., G. S. Gardner, and R. G. Roble, "Lidar studies of interannual, seasonal and diurnal variations of polar mesospheric clouds at the South Pole", Journal of Geophysical Research, 108 (D8), 8447, doi: 10.1029/2002JD002524, 2003.
  • Chu, X., W. Pan, G. Papen, C. S. Gardner, and J. Gelbwachs, "Fe Boltzmann Temperature LIDAR: Design, Error Analysis, and Initial Results at the North and South Poles", Applied Optics, 41, 4400-4410, 2002.
  • Gardner, C. S., G. C. Papen, X. Chu, and W. Pan, "First lidar observations of middle atmosphere temperatures, Fe densities, and polar mesospheric clouds over the North and South poles", Geophysical Research Letters, 28, 1199-1202, 2001.
  • Chu, X., W. Pan, G. Papen, C. S. Gardner, G. Swenson, and P. Jenniskens, "Characteristics of Fe ablation trails observed during the 1998 Leonid meteor shower", Geophysical Research Letters, 27, 1807-1810, 2000.