Analytical modeling of Raman lidar return,including multiple scattering

An analytical approach to modeling Raman lidar return with multiple scattering in presented. This approach is based on a small-angle quasi-single-scattering approximation developed earlier for elastic lidar sounding. An approximation of isotropic backscattering for the Raman-scattering case is proposed and tested. The computed results are presented and compared with known data. The approximation was found to be quite simple and provided a high accuracy of Raman lidar return calculations.