The Rayleigh lidar concept is based on the measurement of Rayleigh scattering when a laser beam is sent in the atmosphere. The principle of such a detection by Rayleigh scattering was developed thanks to the CNRS team of Service d'Aeronomie (M. L. Chanin and A. Hauchecorne). The Rayleigh lidar provides the spacial and temporal atmosphere density and temperature information which have a direct impact on the space device trajectory. This measurement can be obtained thanks to balloon probes or radar up to 30 km in height. The Rayleigh lidar enables these measurements to be made continuously, up to 90 km in height. It can be used for several applications such as: space device assistance, constitution of the statistical data bank of the atmosphere, and the study of physical phenomena in the atmosphere. The new SESO Rayleigh lidar system `LIRA' is transportable and commercially available. Description, characteristics, and results are presented.

Date Published: 17 December 1992
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 1714, Lidar for Remote Sensing, (17 December 1992); doi: 10.1117/12.138531

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1714:
Lidar for Remote Sensing
Richard J. Becherer; Christian Werner, Editor(s)