Assessment of Multiple Scattering in LiDAR Canopy Waveform

Multiple scattering of laser ray leads to distance calculation error and accumulated intensity error in LiDAR waveform. This study quantitatively assesses multiple scattering in LiDAR canopy waveform and explores its relationship with sensor configurations, forest structure, and leaf biochemistry. A...

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Main Authors: Xuebo Yang, Cheng Wang, Xiaohuan Xi, Zheng Niu, Dong Li, Sheng Nie, Kaiyi Bi, Ran Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2024-01-01
Series:IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10636266/
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author Xuebo Yang
Cheng Wang
Xiaohuan Xi
Zheng Niu
Dong Li
Sheng Nie
Kaiyi Bi
Ran Wang
author_facet Xuebo Yang
Cheng Wang
Xiaohuan Xi
Zheng Niu
Dong Li
Sheng Nie
Kaiyi Bi
Ran Wang
author_sort Xuebo Yang
collection DOAJ
description Multiple scattering of laser ray leads to distance calculation error and accumulated intensity error in LiDAR waveform. This study quantitatively assesses multiple scattering in LiDAR canopy waveform and explores its relationship with sensor configurations, forest structure, and leaf biochemistry. Airborne LiDAR measurements were conducted to verify the presence of multiple scattering in spaceborne LiDAR waveforms. A Monte Carlo-based radiative transfer model, DART, was applied to simulate laser multiple scattering. The simulated results were compared with the actual measurements and further revealed how forest characteristics and sensor parameters influence multiple scattering. Results show that multiple scattering contributes significantly (∼30% of canopy subwaveform and ∼18% of total waveform) when there are sufficient scatterers in a large LiDAR footprint, and the scatterers possess a reasonable spatial distribution and a strong albedo at the laser wavelength; contribution of multiple scattering is typically less than 5% for small-footprint LiDAR; multiple scattering of large-footprint LiDAR increases with forest leaf area index and fractional coverage, while also varying with laser pointing angle, crown shape, and leaf angle distribution; leaf biochemical contents affect multiple scattering only at their sensitive wavelength. These findings help to quantitatively explain errors in the simulation, validation, and interpretation of LiDAR signal.
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issn 1939-1404
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language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-bed249744d7d46f2b3e4b9eed6eafa922025-08-20T03:01:27ZengIEEEIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing1939-14042151-15352024-01-0117143941440710.1109/JSTARS.2024.344334810636266Assessment of Multiple Scattering in LiDAR Canopy WaveformXuebo Yang0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0949-0179Cheng Wang1https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2257-9110Xiaohuan Xi2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6979-170XZheng Niu3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5959-9351Dong Li4https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3206-7917Sheng Nie5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5245-5619Kaiyi Bi6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1230-0858Ran Wang7State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaLaser Engineering Center, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaMultiple scattering of laser ray leads to distance calculation error and accumulated intensity error in LiDAR waveform. This study quantitatively assesses multiple scattering in LiDAR canopy waveform and explores its relationship with sensor configurations, forest structure, and leaf biochemistry. Airborne LiDAR measurements were conducted to verify the presence of multiple scattering in spaceborne LiDAR waveforms. A Monte Carlo-based radiative transfer model, DART, was applied to simulate laser multiple scattering. The simulated results were compared with the actual measurements and further revealed how forest characteristics and sensor parameters influence multiple scattering. Results show that multiple scattering contributes significantly (∼30% of canopy subwaveform and ∼18% of total waveform) when there are sufficient scatterers in a large LiDAR footprint, and the scatterers possess a reasonable spatial distribution and a strong albedo at the laser wavelength; contribution of multiple scattering is typically less than 5% for small-footprint LiDAR; multiple scattering of large-footprint LiDAR increases with forest leaf area index and fractional coverage, while also varying with laser pointing angle, crown shape, and leaf angle distribution; leaf biochemical contents affect multiple scattering only at their sensitive wavelength. These findings help to quantitatively explain errors in the simulation, validation, and interpretation of LiDAR signal.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10636266/Forest canopyforest structureLiDAR waveformmultiple scatteringradiative transfer model (RTM)
spellingShingle Xuebo Yang
Cheng Wang
Xiaohuan Xi
Zheng Niu
Dong Li
Sheng Nie
Kaiyi Bi
Ran Wang
Assessment of Multiple Scattering in LiDAR Canopy Waveform
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
Forest canopy
forest structure
LiDAR waveform
multiple scattering
radiative transfer model (RTM)
title Assessment of Multiple Scattering in LiDAR Canopy Waveform
title_full Assessment of Multiple Scattering in LiDAR Canopy Waveform
title_fullStr Assessment of Multiple Scattering in LiDAR Canopy Waveform
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of Multiple Scattering in LiDAR Canopy Waveform
title_short Assessment of Multiple Scattering in LiDAR Canopy Waveform
title_sort assessment of multiple scattering in lidar canopy waveform
topic Forest canopy
forest structure
LiDAR waveform
multiple scattering
radiative transfer model (RTM)
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10636266/
work_keys_str_mv AT xueboyang assessmentofmultiplescatteringinlidarcanopywaveform
AT chengwang assessmentofmultiplescatteringinlidarcanopywaveform
AT xiaohuanxi assessmentofmultiplescatteringinlidarcanopywaveform
AT zhengniu assessmentofmultiplescatteringinlidarcanopywaveform
AT dongli assessmentofmultiplescatteringinlidarcanopywaveform
AT shengnie assessmentofmultiplescatteringinlidarcanopywaveform
AT kaiyibi assessmentofmultiplescatteringinlidarcanopywaveform
AT ranwang assessmentofmultiplescatteringinlidarcanopywaveform