A Next Generation SmallSat Lidar Concept for Atmospheric Science and Opportunities for Multi-Sensor and Modeling Synergy for Aerosol Retrievals

Aerosols play a key role in the Earths atmosphere through their influence on the radiation budget, modulation of clouds and precipitation, interaction with atmospheric dynamics and biogeochemical cycles, and their negative impacts on air quality. To accurately resolve these varied interactions within the Earth system, the vertical distribution of aerosols must be observed. While previous spaceborne elastic backscatter lidars such as the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) have provided such critical measurements of aerosol vertical distributions, here we present a low-cost, low-risk, two wavelength (532 and 1064 nm) SmallSat elastic backscatter concept that can be readily implemented as part of future NASA Earth-Venture, Aerosols and Clouds, Convection, and Precipitation (ACCP), and Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) Decadal Survey programs. In this presentation, we present design and performance comparisons between our SmallSat lidar concept and past spaceborne lidar missions. Additionally, we discuss the science enabled by pairing this lidar with spaceborne passive measurements for improved vertically resolved retrievals of aerosol optical properties and off-nadir aerosol plume heights. Similarly, we present the utility of information content provided by global aerosol transport models as part of aerosol optical property retrievals, which is essential at night as passive sensors are unable to make retrievals. Finally, we provide an overview of near-real time products enabled by our SmallSat lidar concept that can be readily utilized by the aerosol and weather modeling, health and air quality, and aviation safety communities.