Lidar evaluation of smoke and dust clouds

Lidar provides the means to evaluate quantitatively the spatial and temporal variability of smoke and dust clouds as they are transported downwind from particulate sources. Quantitative evaluation of cloud optical and physical densities from cloud backscatter is complicated by effects from particle size, shape, and composition and by attenuation and multiple scattering for dense clouds. Examples are presented that review use of the lidar technique to provide useful evaluations of smoke and dust clouds.