I'm not sure this is anything BRAND new - sounds a lot like a LIDAR setup to me - but I found the article interesting and thought you would, too, from Inside Engineer, in Britain. I'll see what I can find out about the difference between this and a LIDAR setup.
BTW: Have you checked out NationalWeatherOnline.com lately? Some interesting stories on the Headlines Page (a.k.a. "Breaking Weather News), including how pollution can come into play with clouds in the Himalayan Mountains, and updates on the new Santa Ana winds and resultant fires. Remember that I've stopped updating weather headlines and instead am including a link to that site in my menu at the top of the page, or by clicking here.
Matt
"Scientists at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
have developed a system that measures the individual layers of cloud
above us, which in addition to allowing forecasters to more precisely
predict the weather, the information gathers will also enable aircraft
pilots to judge more accurately whether it is safe to take off and land
in diverse weather conditions, offering a powerful safety capability
for civil airports and military air bases." Click here for the complete article.
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