Effects of Atmospheric Attenuation on LIDAR Wavelength

In this paper, the effects of atmospheric attenuation parameters on the emission wavelength of LIDARs used in aviation and space studies have been investigated. In this context, simulations of attenuation factor (q), attenuation coefficient (β) and atmospheric attenuation (ηatm) changes have been performed for LIDAR wavelength variations in the range of 800 - 1600 nm, based on the LIDAR visibility standard used in atmospheric measurements and computations. In response to the change in wavelength between 800 nm and 1600 nm, the values of q, β, and ηatm have varied respectively in the ranges of 0.01874 - 0.13218 dB/km, 0.99278 - 0.86685 km-1, and 0.05084 - 0.07425 dB. On the other hand, the change of the atmospheric attenuation with wavelength has been computed as 2.925 × 10-5 dB(nm-1). Furthermore, equations giving the mathematical relationships between the attenuation factor, attenuation coefficient, and LIDAR wavelength for atmospheric attenuation have been derived using Beer-Lambert law. According to this information, it has been observed that as the wavelength increases, the attenuation factor and the atmospheric attenuation increase, while the attenuation coefficient decreases. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the critical importance of evaluating the effects of wavelength selection on atmospheric attenuation parameters in LIDARs and provides valuable information to the researchers in this field.