Simulation and assessment of solar background noise for spaceborne lidar

The properties for six typical land cover types and three sky conditions were derived in this paper, which allows to make seasonal upper estimations of solar background radiation for a given atmospheric scenario. Solar background noise can be derived from the estimations for a spaceborne lidar based on optical parameters. Comparisons among simulated solar background noise and measurements of Cloud–Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) demonstrate the feasibility of this method. The upper estimates of solar background radiation can be used for lidar engineers to assess the upper estimates of solar background noise for given atmospheric scenarios, which would be a step forward in comparison with using the worst-case scenario everywhere.