Velocity Error for Coherent Doppler Lidar with Pulse Accumulation.

The random estimation or instrument error of coherent Doppler lidar velocity estimates with pulse accumulation (multiple lidar shots per velocity estimate) is determined with computer simulations for general conditions. The sampling errors for overlaid lidar tracks and tropospheric wind field conditions are also calculated for space-based operation. These results permit useful engineering analysis based on the total observation error of the velocity measurements.