Unique properties of laser radiation including its monochromatic properties, polarization, high spectral intensity, coherence, narrow beam divergence, the possibility of controlling the pulse duration and radiation spectrum and, finally, the fact that extremely high power and energy create very favorable conditions for the extensive application of lasers to communi- cation systems, systems for the lidar sensing and ultra-high-precision ranging, navigation, remote monitoring of the environment, and many other systems operating in the atmosphere. The operative efficiency of the above systems...

This monograph undertakes to present systematically the methods for solving inverse problems of lidar sensing of the atmosphere, with emphasis on lidar techniques that are based on the use of light scattering by aerosols. The theory of multi-frequency lidar sensing, as a new method for studying the microphysical and optical characteristics of aerosol formations, is also pre- sented in detail. The possibilities of this theory are illustrated by the experimental results on microstructure analysis of tropospheric and low stratospheric aerosols obtained with ground-based two- and three-frequency...