LIDAR is the acronym of Light Detection and Ranging. It is a weather instrument through which properties of scattered light to find information of a distant target could be measured. LIDAR is an optical remote sensing technology that is used in the fields of remote sensing, geology, seismology, engineering geology, and atmospheric physics.

The range to an object, like the similar technology in radar, is calculated through the measurement of the time delay between transmission of a pulse and detection of the reflected signal.

LIDAR is also termed as ALSM, which means Airborne Laser Swath Mapping. The LIDAR has shorter electromagnetic spectrum wavelengths than Radar, in the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared rays.

Through LIDAR the meteorologists can take the image of an object that is either about the same size or larger than the wave length. Thus LIDAR has many applications in the meteorological department as well as the atmospheric research center. This device is highly sensitive to aerosols and cloud particles.

The metallic objects produce a very significant reflection, whereas the non metallic objects like rock, dust particles, and rain have a much weaker reflection. Therefore these objects create an invisible frequency in the Radar. The laser rays of the LIDAR provide a solution to these problems. The density of the beam and coherency are excellent in LIDAR.

The LIDAR has a much smaller wave length that allows smaller particles to be observed. The reflection from the LIDAR is known as backscattering and is used for various meteorological applications.