The analysis of lidar signatures of cirrus clouds

Abstract

The terminology of light scattering pertinent to a simple form of the lidar equation and the approximate analytical solution of the lidar equation are reviewed without specific restriction on the nature of the cloud scatterers. A boundary value of the volume backscattering coefficient and the relationship between extinction and backscattering are required for the solution. Given the boundary value of the backscattering coefficient and the total transmittance through a cloud, it is possible to derive (by successive approximation) an extinction/ backscatter ratio empirically. Application of the method to the ruby lidar return from a cirrus cloud led to a ratio of 28 sr, and to reasonable profiles of the backscatter coefficient and the transmittance through the cloud.