Theoretical characterization of bottom returns for bathymetric lidar

The two parameters most important to describing and evaluating the performance of an airborne, pulsed lidar bathymetry system are accuracy and penetration. Monte Carlo simulation results for multiple scattering and diffusion in a homogeneous medium are extended analytically to provide estimates of expected temporal response shape, depth bias errors, and round trip signal loss profiles as a function of optical depth and scattering parameters. These formulations will provide several of the key relationships necessary for extrapolation of performance parameters in an optimized system from existing experimental data sets.