Abstract: The polar atmosphere plays an important role in the global atmospheric system, and the polar wind field structure and its changes are closely related to global atmospheric dynamics. For further study of both the low-altitude atmospheric wind field properties and the characterization of its spatiotemporal variations in the Antarctic, a coherent Doppler wind lidar was developed by the Institute of Oceanographic Instrumentation at Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences, China), and deployed at Zhongshan Station (Antarctica) during the summer period of the 36th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition. After field installation and testing, routine wind lidar observations commenced on January 8, 2020. Results showed that the high sensitivity, precision, and stability of the system ensured full-time observation of the low-altitude atmospheric wind field with high spatiotemporal resolution. In this paper, we report detailed information regarding the coherent Doppler wind lidar, including its measurement principles, structural design, technical parameters, and data inversion algorithm, together with experimental results. Specifically, the data observed by the wind lidar were compared with those from an L-band GTS1 digital radiosonde. Statistical analysis of wind speed (direction) data obtained by the two instruments showed a correlation coefficient of 0.907 (0.832) and a standard deviation of 0.565 m·s–1 (6.02°), confirming the reliability of the wind data measured by the developed lidar system. Lidar data obtained as part of a typical continuous observation series were also analyzed. By comparing parts of the lidar data with meteorological data recorded at the ground station, we further demonstrated the stability and reliability of the wind field data. Thus, the developed wind lidar system represents a novel effective approach for observing the low-altitude atmosphere in the Antarctic.

Key words: Doppler wind lidar, wind speed, wind direction, Zhongshan Station