SGP/RL/C1 - Poor system alignment

Inspection of the data shows several periods when the alignment of the system was not 
optimal. This resulted in periods of reduced signal to noise ratio (SNR). During the period 
from 06/18/2012 through 07/09/2012 the automated alignment system experienced glitches 
near solar noon (~1800 UTC). These glitches were characterized by sudden changes in the 
alignment. The effect is most evident in the narrow-field-of-view channels.
In many cases, the alignment drifts off during cloudy periods but does not automatically 
reestablish optimal alignment after the clouds pass. In those cases, the on-site tech 
performs a manual alignment tweak.

Be aware that the alignment changes affect both overlap corrections and the SNR.

• Summed analog signal in the temperature 2 channel(t2_analog_high)
• Summed analog signal in the high depolarization channel(depolarization_analog_high)
• Number of photons counted in the high nitrogen channel(nitrogen_counts_high)
• Number of laser shots recorded for the liquid water channel(shots_summed_liquid_high)
• Summed analog signal in the liquid water channel(liquid_analog_high)
• Number of photons counted in the temperature 2 channel(t2_counts_high)
• Count rate in the high depolarization channel(depolarization_counts_high)
• Number of photons counted in the high elastic (aerosol) channel(elastic_counts_high)
• Count rate in the high water vapor channel(water_counts_high)
• Number of photons counted in the temperature 1 channel(t1_counts_high)
• Number of laser shots recorded for the temperature 1 channel(shots_summed_t1_high)
• Number of laser shots recorded for the high elastic channel(shots_summed_elastic_high)
• Number of laser shots recorded for the high water channel(shots_summed_water_high)
• Number of laser shots recorded for the high depolarization channel(shots_summed_depolarization_high)
• Summed analog signal in the high water vapor channel(water_analog_high)
• Summed analog signal in the high elastic channel(elastic_analog_high)
• Number of laser shots recorded for the high nitrogen channel(shots_summed_nitrogen_high)
• Number of laser shots recorded for the temperature 2 channel(shots_summed_t2_high)
• Summed analog signal in the high nitrogen channel(nitrogen_analog_high)
• Number of photons counted in the liquid water channel(liquid_counts_high)
• Summed analog signal in the temperature 1 channel(t1_analog_high)