What percentage of the oceanic mixed layer is accessible to marine lidar? Global and the Gulf of Mexico prospective

Abstract

The oceanic mixed layer is a nearly homogenous region of the upper ocean which, in principle, has a little or no variation in turbulence strength, temperature or density with depth. This layer mediates oceanic fluxes of gas, momentum and heat. Here, based on the chosen marine Lidar system, we have carried out estimates of the depth penetration of the Lidar when compared to the local mixed layer depth. On average, we have found that at least 50% of the global oceanic mixed layer depth is accessible to the Lidar observations. When operating in a single scattering mode, which is more attenuating but more amenable to analysis, the modeled Lidar was found to access 0.4 of global mixed layer depth in half of the cases. The single scattering Lidar was found to access a large fraction of the equatorial mixed layer - a region very important when addressing global climatic issues. In a coastal environment such as the Gulf of Mexico the single scattering Lidar was found to penetrate upper half of the mixed layer, underscoring the potential for Lidar to address environmental issues there.