Patent ID: 8269950

Claim:
A method for the characterization of atmospheric particles by means of a lidar device, comprising the following steps: sending a laser pulse in the atmosphere, a part of which is backscattered by the particles in the atmosphere thus generating a direct backscattering signal that propagates towards the lidar device; detecting the direct backscattering signal, and determining optical characteristics of the particles on the basis of the detected direct backscattering signal; wherein it is provided a reflecting optical device that is positioned at a predetermined distance d from the lidar system, whereby a part of the laser pulse that directly reaches the reflecting device is backreflected and is later backscattered by the particles in the atmosphere thus generating a counterpropagating backscattering signal directed towards the reflecting device, which signal reaches the reflecting device and is in turn backreflected by it towards the lidar system, and the counterpropagating backscattering signal is also detected, so that the determination of the characteristics of the particles is made also using the counterpropagating backscattering signal.