Simulation of Compact Spaceborne Lidar with High-Repetition-Rate Laser for Cloud and Aerosol Detection under Different Atmospheric Conditions

Abstract

To provide references for the design of the lab’s upcoming prototype of the compact spaceborne lidar with a high-repetition-rate laser (CSLHRL), in this paper, the detection signal of spaceborne lidar was simulated by the measured signal of ground-based lidar, and then, the detection capability of spaceborne lidar under different atmospheric conditions was evaluated by means of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), volume depolarization ratio (VDR) and attenuated color ratio (ACR). Firstly, the Fernald method was used to invert the optical parameters of cloud and aerosol with the measured signal of ground-based lidar. Secondly, the effective signal of the spaceborne lidar was simulated according to the known atmospheric optical parameters and the parameters of the spaceborne lidar system. Finally, by changing the cumulative laser pulse number and atmospheric conditions, a simulation was carried out to further evaluate the detection performance of the spaceborne lidar, and some suggestions for the development of the system are given. The experimental results showed that the cloud layer and aerosol layer with an extinction coefficient above 0.3 km−1 could be easily obtained when the laser cumulative pulse number was 1000 and the vertical resolution was 15 m at night; the identification of moderate pollution aerosols and thick clouds could be easily identified in the daytime when the laser cumulative pulse number was 10,000 and the vertical resolution was 120 m.