Abstract

Recent experiments conducted with the NASA Airborne Oceanographic Lidar (AOL) have shown that laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) emissions from living terrestrial plants are detectable from a remote platform. A 3-MW peak power doubled Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm was used from an altitude of 150 m to induce fluorescence in trees, bushes, and grasses growing in their natural habitat. A companion 427-nm pulsed dye laser was used simultaneously at 6.25 pps to compare its effectiveness over the same test area. The dye laser produced 300-kW peak power after pumping by an XeCl excimer laser at 308 nm. On two flight lines the dye laser was also operated at 100 pps to provide higher density data as well as to permit evaluation of the need for spatial averaging. The controlled test site contained a more or less random distribution of indigenous plant types along most portions of the flight path.

© 1983 Optical Society of America