Classification of remote sensing devices at different sites: a lidar case study

The classification scheme outlined in the IEC 61400-12-1 Ed. 2 committee draft describes a procedure for determining the sensibilities of a remote sensing device on different external (environmental) variables. In principle, this procedure should ensure that the considered device can be applied at any site with a reasonably estimated associated uncertainty budget based on the extrapolated results of the verification and classification tests. In the draft standard this concept is limited to flat terrain. But it is expected that it will be applied in the future at least for resource assessment campaigns also in more complex terrain. In the present contribution we investigate how well the results for a lidar-mast comparison performed in flat terrain can be transferred to a moderately comple x site. It is analysed how the deviations between lidar and reference mast measurements at the two sites compare and if they can be reconstructed on the basis of the systematic sensibilities to environmental variables found as results of the classification tests. In particular, we want to answer the question if multi-site testing (including also the more complex sites for testing purposes, as e.g. the 200-m-mast test site at Rödeser Berg) may help to better estimate the uncertainties associated to the measurements of a remote sensing device, avoiding in particular an over-estimation of the components from a device classification due to the extrapolation of results from the test in flat terrain.