Lidar Remote Sensing

light detection and ranging) is an important tool for atmosphericstudies. Lidar provides a unique and powerful method for unobtrusively profiling aerosols, wind,water vapor, temperature, and other atmospheric parameters. This brief overview of lidar remotesensing is focused on atmospheric applications involving pulsed lasers. The level of technicaldetail is aimed at the educated non-lidar expert and references are provided for furtherinvestigation of specific topics. The article is divided into three main sections. The first describesatmospheric scattering processes and the physics behind laser-atmosphere interactions. Thesecond section highlights some of the primary lidar applications, with brief descriptions of eachmeasurement capability. The third section describes the practical aspects of lidar operation,including the governing equation and operational considerations.BACKGROUNDRemote sensing can be generically defined as the act of measuring some aspect of an objectwithout actually being in contact with the object. Although many disciplines use remote sensingtechniques, atmospheric science is a discipline with particular need for remote sensingmeasurements. Early remote sensing techniques such as sounding rockets and balloons havegiven way to new classes of active and passive remote sensors. The first significant active remotesensing advancement was the development of radar. Introduced during World War II andperfected for scientific uses thereafter, radar has become a primary tool for atmospheric studies.The next advancement came with the development and deployment of weather satellites.