Effect of wind-driven waves on the retrieved extinction index of sea water during laser sensing with different field-of-view angles

Abstract

The feasibility of retrieving information from lidar return signals has been discussed in connection with salient features of the formation of multiple scattering for different lidar field-of-view angles (FOVA). However, the aspects of hydrosol sensing connected with the presence of the rough air-water interface make the lidar signal interpretation more difficult. Results of a statistical simulation by the Monte Carlo method are presented in the report for a water scattering layer homogeneous with depth. peculiarities of the waveforms of the lidar signals recorded during a flight above Lake Baikal (in November 1996) and the Atlantic Ocean to the West of Great Britain (in June 1997) are discussed. We estimate that the effect of multiple scattering compensates for the effect of wind-driven sea waves when FOV angle is about p/2 equals 3 - 4 mrad, and that these FOVA are optimal for sounding.