Lidar ( Lidar (LIght Detection And Ranging) P(r) = power received at range r A r = area of receiver OC3522Summer 2001 OC Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere and Ocean - Summer 2001 LASER Light Amplification of the Stimulated Emission of Radiation

What can be learned from lidar?

R(z) = P t (z)/M(z)

Lidar In-space Technology Experiment A 3- backscatter lidar developed by NASA Langley Research Center to fly on the Space Shuttle (September 1994).

355 nm more molecular (Rayleigh) scatter 532 nm nearer most common particle size 1064 nm nearer most common particle size

North American Pollution European Pollution

NASA RESEARCHERS DOCUMENT SHRINKING OF GREENLAND'S GLACIERS “… as much as 30 feet over five years in some locations.” Beach Modification by El Nino (Montara, California)

Picture above is a flat map generated by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), an instrument aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, the high-resolution map represents 27 million elevation measurements gathered in 1998 and (accuracy 2-13 meters) FIRST GLOBAL 3-D VIEW OF MARS REVEALS DEEP BASIN AND PATHWAYS FOR WATER FLOW

Launch: November 7, 1996 Arrived: September 12, 1997 Mass: 767 kilograms (1,691 pounds) Science instruments: High-resolution Camera, Thermal Emission Spectrometer, Laser Altimeter; Magnetometer/Electron Reflectometer, Ultra-stable Oscillator, Radio Relay System

Cancelled

To be launched on the ice/cloud/land elevation satellite (ICESat)  m and 532nm (green)