Obtaining surface optical properties from space-based lidar systems

摘要

Space-based lidar systems are planned for a number of applications. One application being considered is to use a space- based lidar to infer information about the visibility near the surface from remote or inaccessible areas. This can be accomplished if one can obtain information about the optical properties near the surface. The concept would involve using a lidar on a space platform probing the atmosphere and underlying surface along its orbital path. The purpose of this research has two goals. The first is to determine if a unique relationship can be found at a suitable laser wavelength to relate the extinction coefficients near the surface to the visibility at the surface. The second goal is to determine if lidar back scatter measurements can be inverted in a reasonable fashion to obtain the extinction coefficient near the surface. If these goals can be met, then visibility can be obtained on a routine basis from space-based lidars. This paper presents the results from the study. In the study, a number of different lidar wavelengths have been studied to see if one is more suitable than the others. Also, an examination of the assumptions required to perform the inversion of the lidar equation has been made.