Modeling Lidar Solar Background Measurements

A high-fidelity lidar simulation tool has been developed to generate synthetic lidar backscatter data that closely matches the expected performance of various lidars, including the noise characteristics inherent to analog detection and uncertainties related to the measurement environment. This tool supports performance trade studies and scientific investigations for both the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), which flies aboard Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), and the NASA Langley Research Center airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL). The simulation tool models the lidar instrument characteristics, the backscatter signals generated from aerosols, clouds, ocean surface and subsurface, and the solar background signals. The background signals are derived from the simulated aerosol and cloud characteristics, the surface type, and solar zenith angle, using a look-up table of upwelling radiance vs scene type. The upwelling radiances were derived from the CALIOP RMS background noise and were correlated with measurements of the particulate intensive and extensive optical properties, including surface scattering for clear air measurements. The initial look-up-table was generated using data from three days in May 2014. This work will expand the look-up-table by including CALIOP background measurements for all ten years of operation (2006 through 2016). These data will then be used to show regional and seasonal variations in reflectance over the surface (for land, water, and ice) and over both opaque and semi-transparent atmospheres.