Abstract

Optical/laser remote sensing has bear extensively used to study the atmospheres and surfaces of the earth and other planets. While earlier optical remote sensing instruments were essentially cameras or simple filter devices, modem instruments often use a variety of spectrally selective analyzers to obtain information about atmospheric trace species, meteorological conditions, and surface features. With the advent of commercial lasers in the 1960s, lidar systems have been used to obtain information complementary to and/or beyond that obtained using passive optical remote sensing instruments. This tutorial focuses on the earth science areas, describing briefly some of the optical/laser remote sensing techniques and instruments used. Emphasized are those instruments that measure aerosols, ozone, water vapor, and other trace gas species. Overviews of advanced lidar systems under development, such as LASE (for high-altitude aircraft measurements of water vapor), LITE (for space- based measurements of aerosols), and LAWS (for space-based measurements of winds) are presented along with the laser requirements for future lidar systems for atmospheric studies.

© 1993 Optical Society of America